


Career Week

by kittandchips



Series: Force Bond [14]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Bring your son to work day, Dad Vader, Father-Son Adventure, Father-Son Relationship, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:09:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29388219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittandchips/pseuds/kittandchips
Summary: AU where Vader raises teen Luke on Coruscant.It sounded like a simple Career Week school project. Spend the day with a parent and report back on their job. But nothing is that simple when your father is Darth Vader and your name is Luke Skywalker.
Relationships: Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Series: Force Bond [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1722820
Comments: 228
Kudos: 260





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a self-contained fic set in between Force Bond 2 and 3, after 'Sleepover Dad'. Luke is 16.
> 
> I started writing this one in 2008, around the same time as Family and Imperial Pride, but could never get it to progress in a way that felt right. This is the third plot I tried and as it turned out, the one that finally motivated me enough to get it finished. Hope you enjoy.
> 
> There are eleven chapters in total and I'll update weekly. It's also on fanfiction.net if you prefer to read there (I'm kittandchips there as well).

Luke Skywalker collided with the school reception desk, his breath coming in short gasps as he slumped over it, one hand raised in surrender. It was pointless to hope that the administrative droid would be in a good mood, but he always did try to be a glass-half-full kind of person.

"Yeah, I know. I'm late."

B-60's tone rarely changed, but Luke was sure he could hear more than a hint of smugness in the droid's reply. "42 minutes and 23 seconds late, to be precise."

Luke sighed. You'd think being the son of one of the most powerful men in the galaxy would mean a life free of this kind of problem. After all, his father was never late for anything—everyone else was simply early.

He propped himself up on the counter, digging in his bag for a datapad.

"I ... have ..." Luke paused to catch his breath while struggling to prevent the entire contents of his bag spreading out on the desk. "Note," he finished, gesturing at the datapad.

"Kindly step back from the desk." B-60 clasped the datapad in one metal hand while poking Luke with the other. "And take those skin cells with you."

Luke brushed his sleeve over the desk surface, hoping that would do the trick. Without a microscope, it was hard to tell.

B-60 studied the datapad. "This note contains no explanation."

"It's a long story. I wasn't about to ask my father to write it all out. He's busy, you know."

"Yes, my logic subroutine tells me that a man of your father's importance must be extremely busy. In fact, too busy to do such mundane things as sign your late note. This signature is a forgery. It is only an 80 percent match to the one I have on file. Disappointing, as I might have been able to sell it on the HoloNet and make enough money to buy my freedom."

Luke groaned. This droid needed a personality upgrade. "All right. Maybe I didn't have time to get his real signature, but he would have signed it! Can I _please_ go to class now?"

"You still haven't told me exactly why you are late."

Maybe his father might consider purchasing B-60 himself. He could be very useful as an interrogation droid. Five minutes' worth of this brand of torture, even the most hardened Rebel would come clean.

"It all started when I stopped by the mall to get a frozen caf on my way in." Luke's voice had grown quieter as he spoke, worried that some passerby might hear and spread this story all over the school. "I saw someone attempt to snatch a bag from an older couple and ran to tackle the thief."

B-60 rested his chin on his hand and somehow managed to convey skepticism through his metal face. "That's one I've never heard before. Points for originality."

"It's the truth."

"Please, go on."

"But this wasn't just your typical lower-level pickpocket. They were fighting like crazy, but I managed to hold my own until the mall security arrived."

"Did they execute the thief?"

Luke frowned. "I hope not. They just took him away and presumably called the police."

"Pity. The less biological lifeforms, the better." The irritating droid finally waved Luke on. "Your class is in the auditorium."

"Why?"

"I couldn't care less. Go and find out."

No one had mentioned anything about an assembly. They were supposed to be in a language class that morning. As if walking in late wasn't embarrassing enough, now he was going to have to walk in late in front of who knew how many people. He made his way around to the rear doors, and then hovered outside, trying to hear what was going on. The doors were transparent, and he could see someone unfamiliar speaking at the podium. Perhaps he should just wait out here until it was over and join the class as they came out.

But it was already too late for that. Mr Kyde, his political studies teacher, had spotted him through the doors, and he made a beckoning gesture, inviting him in. There was nothing for it.

Luke kept his head down and tried to walk as quietly as possible, but it didn't help. Multiple people turned to look at him as he walked up the center aisle towards the seats where his class sat, spread across three rows. The person at the podium went right on speaking, saying something about the Empire and service.

It sounded like the school might be running another silly Imperial Pride week. Perhaps he could fake being sick to avoid it.

Ben caught his eye, and Luke walked down the row, taking the empty space next to him.

"What happened to you?" Ben whispered.

"Foiled a mall robbery," Luke mumbled.

Ben smirked. He passed him a datapad, filled with the words 'Career Week' in large letters at the top. That explained why Mr Kyde was here. He was also one of the school's career advisers.

A few mumbles ran through the class and shuffles as students put up their hands to ask questions.

"Where's she from?" Luke asked, gesturing at the speaker.

"A Career Advice consultancy. It's run by the education department."

"What do we have to do?"

"We all have to attend a one-on-one appointment with a career advisor to talk about career options. Our parents can come too if they want."

Luke nodded. It sounded interesting. He had started to think about his future more seriously over the last few months, but there was no chance of him ever inviting his father along to discuss it. He'd made him promise to never come near his school again.

There was a final call for questions, and then the presentation was over. As everyone stood up to leave, Ben mentioned something else.

"Then we have to complete an assignment. Spend a day with a parent and report back on their job."

Luke's eyes grew wide. "You're kidding!"

"I wish. Sitting around watching my dad guard the Emperor? I'd rather watch a planet rotate."

"My father will not want me spending a day with him."

"It would be more interesting than mine. He'd probably give you a tour of a star destroyer."

"More like teach me how to interrogate Rebels."

His stomach turned at the idea. An alternative plan was already forming in his head. He'd fake the assignment, somehow. Just get his father's schedule from Lev and invent what happened, while actually spending the day in the flight sims.

"Luke."

Luke glanced up, finding Mr Kyde had fallen into step beside them.

"May I have a word?"

Luke raised his hands. "B-60 wouldn't give me a late pass. But I have a good reason. It's a long story, though. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

His normally serious teacher cracked a small smile. "It's all right, Luke." He gestured for him to stop walking, and then watched as the rest of the students trailed out. Ben was last, and after the doors slid closed behind him, his teacher turned back to meet his gaze.

"Did Ben tell you what's happening this week?"

"Yes, he said about the career appointments and the assignment."

"I spoke to a few of the others beforehand. Obviously, some of you are in a different situation and don't require career advice. We won't assign you an appointment time."

"Why not?" Luke said, taken aback. "It sounded interesting."

His teacher's tone sounded bemused. "I think it's fair to say your career is already set in stone."

Luke burned with annoyance. "What, so I have no say?! I haven't even decided what I want to do!"

Mr Kyde's expression briefly became a frown, but his response was calm.

"Have you spoken to your father about this?"

Luke folded his arms, looking down. He hated it when he lost his temper and spoke in a way that was less than polite, yet teachers just pretended it was fine because his father was powerful.

"It's not his decision," he mumbled.

"Luke, you do realize that you are a potential heir to the Imperial throne?"

"No, I'm not. You taught us about the constitution last year, so I know it says only the Emperor can appoint a successor. He doesn't even like me. Even if by some miracle he actually died, and my father was Emperor, I'd refuse to be named a successor. I'm not the right person to rule the galaxy."

"I see." Mr Kyde appeared to be taking him far more seriously now. "And you've told your father this?"

"He thinks I'll change my mind when I'm older." Luke rolled his eyes. "Not going to happen. I don't understand why anyone would volunteer for that job."

"Power can be a very attractive thing."

Luke shrugged. "Just give me a ship and a place to fly it, and I'm happy. Well, maybe a little more than that. Good friends. Family."

Mr Kyde was still staring at him in a curious way. It was a bit unsettling. Luke decided to change the subject.

"Anyway, can I still go to the appointment but skip the assignment instead? I can't spend a day with my father. He's usually away. When he's here, most of what he does is top secret."

"If you'd like to choose another adult, that's fine. But I think it would be very beneficial for the class to learn more about what your father does. Why don't you see what he thinks first, and then decide."

"Um ... I'll see," Luke said. As in, he'd see about finding a pilot he could spend a day with.

* * *

"And so what are your future plans, then?" the Emperor asked, with a pleasant smile. "You always did like carpentry, if I recall."

"Yes, I have dreams of building a treehouse for the grandchildren, but not sure the old hands are still up for it." The older man sitting opposite the Emperor's desk raised his gnarled fingers. "Juneé already has big plans for renovating our lake country house."

"How many grandchildren do you have now?"

"Well … now, let me see. Yulee has a couple of boys. No … three boys … and Pola, she has a few girls. I lose count …"

What proceeded from there was a long rambling description of various children and their names and ages, which the man frequently mixed up and lost track of. Vader had his eyes closed, wishing he was somewhere else. Anywhere else. Inside a space slug would do just fine.

The Emperor was still so skilled at hiding the effects of the Dark Side and acting fully human, an ability that completely eluded Vader. There were many among Palpatine's direct staff who were completely unaware the man they worked for could easily take their life merely by raising his hand. Mas Amedda seemed to work particularly hard at ignoring every sign that the ruler of the galaxy was also steeped in the ways of the Sith, although he had been fully aware of that fact for decades.

"Well, you have a long and peaceful retirement, my friend," the Emperor said, just as the man was about to start on a description of the newest grandchild. "Remember to send me a holo of your garden."

"Thank you, your highness." He shook his head as he stood up, and then gave a wry smile. "You've come such a long way since we first met."

"We have indeed," the Emperor said. "Goodbye now."

When the retiring royal advisor finally left the office, hurried along by the royal guard, the Emperor stood up and went to stare out the vast window overlooking the city. A quiet chuckle passed his lips.

"You know, I was going to ask you to ensure that man's ship met with a tragic accident on his way back to Naboo, but I've realized that's unnecessary. He barely remembers his wife's name. If I ever reach such a state of dotage, promise me you'll stab me in the back."

There was no trace of humor in his tone, but Vader wasn't entirely sure if it was meant seriously or not. In any case, only one response was required of him.

"Yes, my master."

The Emperor smiled, still looking out the window. After a moment, he said, "No. You would use a more honorable method. Pity."

He sighed then, and Vader began to feel unsettled. He sensed more from Palpatine than just idle chatter.

"Does something trouble you, Master?"

Another long pause. Then, he said, "Some days, one feels one's age, Lord Vader. Especially when I notice your son is looking more like a young man every day."

Curious. Vader never gave much thought to his own age. To others, the mask rendered him ageless. Luke occasionally attempted to discover when his birthday was, much to his annoyance, but it was irrelevant to anyone else.

The comlink on the Emperor's desk beeped then, and he activated it with the Force.

"Yes?"

"Your highness, the Grand Vizier wishes to speak with you both."

"Very well, allow him up." He returned to his desk, glancing up at Vader as he sat down.

"His parents-in-law are visiting Coruscant this week, and they suffered an attempted robbery at the mall this morning."

Vader considered this, and then said, "That will assist the passage of the bill."

The senate was currently debating a bill to increase the rights of the capital law enforcement to detain and question citizens indefinitely.

The Emperor smiled. "Not everything is by my design, Lord Vader, but you are right. It does help. I'm sure he will bring up the incident when he next addresses the Senate."

Mas Amedda entered the office then, elaborate robes streaming behind him as he walked quickly across the floor. He bowed in greeting and then placed a holo projector on the desk.

"ISB have provided the security recordings of the young man who apprehended the petty thief, your highness. One of them insists that it is Lord Vader's son."

Vader felt a wave of surprise at the words. "Luke is at school. He has made no mention of being involved in a robbery."

"This boy looks taller and older than your son," Mas Amedda said. He set the holo playing. "He fights as if he's had professional training."

The holo showed a young man with his hands in his pockets, standing in a queue at a fast food outlet. His head snapped to the side at the sight of something off-camera, and one look at his face confirmed ISB were not mistaken as to the boy's identity. Vader struggled not to audibly groan as he watched Luke fly across the mall at a full sprint and headbutt the thief away from the Chagrian couple.

"That is indeed my son," Vader said.

Mas Amedda looked back at the holo, clearly surprised. "Really? He's grown up quite a bit since I last saw him."

"He's not exactly cautious, is he?" the Emperor asked, smiling at the sight. "Reminds me of someone else I know."

The holo Luke was still fighting off the thief, using a combination of defensive blocks and simple attacks designed to bring his opponent to the ground. The other boy was of similar height and build to him, making his task easier.

"Has he had martial arts training?" Mas Amedda enquired.

From the depths of his memory, Vader could vaguely recall Luke mentioning that one of the security officers had been giving him self-defense lessons in the training gym downstairs. At the time, he had merely nodded his approval, thinking that anything that helped keep him safe was a worthy use of his spare time. He didn't consider that it might give him the confidence to seek out trouble.

"He has been taught some basic self-defense by the palace security team," Vader said.

"Well, I am grateful for young Skywalker's assistance," Mas Amedda said. "I would like to thank him personally."

Vader glanced at the chronometer. "He is due home from school shortly. I will need to ensure he was not injured."

"It looks more likely the thief was injured," the Emperor said, rewinding the holo. "Interesting. I wasn't aware he possessed such an aggressive streak."

There was a hint of fascination in the Emperor's voice that Vader found unsettling. Gone was any trace of his earlier melancholy over the inevitability of aging. He wished he could reach out and destroy the holo and all other copies that might have been made, but such a thing might be considered the extreme parental overreaction his son often accused him of.

* * *

A short time later, Vader had carefully positioned himself in the middle of the corridor leading to Luke's room. As he watched the elevator lights track the journey up to the floor, he folded his arms in anticipation.

His son stepped out when the door slid open, shaggy blond hair askew, sleeves rolled up on his school tunic, and humming a song to himself. What was it that made the Emperor and Mas Amedda think he was looking older? He was still every inch a boy.

He drew up short at the sight of him.

"Um … slow day running the Empire?" Luke suggested.

"How was school?" Vader asked, in a pointed tone.

A guilty expression crossed his face. "Fine."

"Did anything unusual happen?"

"No. Why?" Vader just stared at him until Luke began to crack. "Depends how you define unusual."

"Why don't you tell me, and then I will decide."

"Okay, okay, so I have to complete some new project, but don't worry, I can handle it."

"Think harder."

Luke swallowed. "That depends on how much you know," he said, carefully.

Vader leaned forward and spoke slowly. "I know everything."

"Then why are you wasting time asking me a hundred questions?!"

Vader raised his index finger to point at him. "Because you should have contacted me immediately."

"You'd have freaked out and subjected me to a full medical exam."

"You put yourself in danger."

Luke raised his hands. "I was just trying to help people!"

"I know you like to help. But consider whether the armed mall security could have handled it better. You are not some random passerby in this city, Son. Your privacy is important."

"I wish I _was_ a random citizen," Luke mumbled, looking down.

His words caused some forgotten emotion to stir deep within Vader, and he reached out to place a hand on his son's shoulder. It wasn't easy for Luke to have to deal with the public attention that came with his father's career, and he should make allowances for that. He took advantage of the connection to use the Force to check Luke for injuries.

"Were you hurt?"

"No. Well … maybe a couple of bruises. I'll find them in the shower."

"I watched the holo. You handled yourself well."

Luke shrugged, smiling then. "Commander Julius has been doing some martial arts training with me down in the gym. It's fun."

"Did you realize the people you assisted were the Grand Vizier's in-laws?"

Luke snapped his head up. "No! Really? Were they all right?"

"Yes. Mas Amedda would like to thank you, so you will go upstairs to his office. After you have had an opportunity to dress appropriately."

"Can't he just send me a card? Or better yet … a gift basket with food."

"No. Hurry up."

"Do I really have to dress up? I mean … this is the guy who likes to complain about my 'lack of decorum' in the palace at least twice a year."

"A complaint not without merit," Vader said, stepping aside to allow Luke past.

It took a few tries, but Luke eventually passed his inspection, and then left to go upstairs. Vader had several fleet reports to read and withdrew to his meditation chamber to get some needed peace and quiet. It wasn't until an hour had passed that he realized Luke had never returned. He stretched out along their bond, seeking knowledge of his location. His presence was still within the palace.

It was a further fifteen minutes before he finally returned to his room, and Vader couldn't help but go and seek a report on the situation. His son appeared relaxed and even amused by something, which wasn't necessarily a good sign.

"Did you get lost on the way?" Vader inquired, entering Luke's room.

His son was busy stripping off his formal tunic.

"Stars, can you use the door-comm please?" he said, tossing the tunic on the bed and exchanging it for a comfortable loose shirt. "No. I was just … chatting. His parents-in-law were nice. They wanted to learn all about my school and what I was studying. Then I showed them around the library and the conservatory. I think they just wanted to pretend I was one of their grandchildren for a while and that was fine with me."

Vader studied his son, sensing that perhaps he enjoyed pretending they were his grandparents, too. He never said anything, but he knew he must wish he could have a close relationship with his own extended family. He had such an open heart.

"I will have some time this evening to assist with your speeder restoration project," Vader said.

Luke grinned. "Great! I'll meet you down there soon. I need to eat and then I'm going to check up on the droids. Threepio needs an oil bath."

"Very well."

Vader turned to leave, but Luke spoke again, in a hesitant tone.

"By the way … if I wanted to find out what happened to that thief … maybe even visit him in prison … do you know any good contacts?"

Vader turned back. "Considering he attempted to steal from the Grand Vizier's relatives, I believe it would not be in your best interests to investigate."

"But he was only my age … maybe even younger. They wouldn't execute a teenager, right?"

"Did you raise your concerns with the Grand Vizier?"

Luke nodded. "Before his in-laws arrived, he showed me the holo. At the time, I was too busy focused on the fight to even really notice much about the thief. But in the holo I noticed he was wearing …" Luke trailed off, and then added, "He just changed the subject when I asked. Typical."

Vader was about to tell Luke to put the issue out of his mind, but his sense of his son's concern made it clear that wouldn't be so simple. His heart was going to cause him a lot of pain until he learned to bury it. But that time had not yet arrived.

"I will see what I can learn."

"Thanks," Luke said, sending a feeling of gratitude along their bond.

* * *

"Well, I think I'm saved," Ben said, as he climbed into the speeder the next morning.

Luke hit the accelerator, overtaking a slow clunker and merging back into the traffic flow. "Saved?"

"My Dad doesn't want me spending the day with him either. He said he knows some people and he might be able to find someone in the senate offices I could do the project with. So how did it go down for you?"

"Um … I didn't bring it up. I'm hoping he'll leave Coruscant soon and then I won't have to."

"Hey, well if you need someone else, my dad's free." Ben grinned. "Your father would probably trust him to keep you out of trouble for a day."

Luke was about to dismiss the idea when he gave it a second thought. It did mean a day off school, and he could just take notes on what Captain Jarnet was doing every thirty minutes while spending the rest of his time in the hangar. "That's an idea."

"I wasn't serious. It would be so boring! You could always ask Lev. Or some of the officers in the palace security team."

"Maybe." Luke thought further on the idea and felt his mood begin to lighten. "I could do the project with Artoo. A day in the life of an astromech droid. It could be interesting."

"Are you considering a career as an astromech droid?"

Luke smirked. "Maybe."

"I'd like to be there when you tell the career adviser that. Have you got your appointment time yet? Mine is later this morning."

"No. When did you get yours?"

"It was in my inbox yesterday."

As soon as they made it to class, Luke logged into his mail, eager to make sure that Mr Kyde hadn't left him out of the appointment list. Fortunately, an appointment time was there. He was later in the afternoon, so they'd probably been assigned alphabetically.

There was a questionnaire attached to be filled in before going to the appointment, designed to give the adviser some ideas about what to focus on. Luke skimmed over it, and then quickly filled it in. The answers were almost instinctual.

Meanwhile, Ben spent most of the morning filling his in carefully, taking every spare moment during class to bounce ideas off Luke. He'd still only completed half of it by the time he left to fill his appointment slot.

He returned just before lunch, carrying a prospectus for the first university of Coruscant. Luke browsed through it on his datapad, surprised at the sheer number of different academic majors. You could probably get a degree in moisture farming if you really wanted.

Ben was busy looking through a guide to the medical school. "Hey, do you think your doctor would let me do the project with him?"

"Doctor Leeson? I could ask. Why?"

"He's the only non-droid doctor I know."

"You're thinking about going to medical school?" Luke asked.

Ben nodded. "Ever since I caught that Vanbane disease and we did that unit on immunity in biology, I keep thinking about it. But when I told my father, he said it would take years and be expensive, and people preferred droid doctors. But the career advisor went through it with me and although it would take years and be expensive, qualified non-droid doctors are in demand. Especially in research fields, and there are lots of scholarships I can apply for."

Ben's positive experience only made Luke more eager for his own appointment. When the time arrived, he excused himself from their math class and made his way to the meeting rooms in the administration offices. The student who went in before him was still inside, so he sat around in the waiting area, browsing through his questionnaire on a datapad.

B-60 stepped out of the principal's office, carrying a stack of viewscreens.

"Let me guess," he said, upon detecting Luke with his photo-sensors. "You denounced the Empire in history class again?"

Luke frowned. "I'm not in trouble. For your information, I'm waiting for my career consultancy appointment."

"I thought you would have had your career already programmed for you," B-60 said. "Much like me when I came off the assembly line."

Luke smiled. "Unlike you droids, we biological lifeforms can resist our programming."

"So I've been told. I remain skeptical."

Luke would have argued further, but Mr Kyde came out of the meeting room, saying goodbye to the previous student. He then gestured for Luke to come on over.

"Have you filled in your questionnaire?" he asked.

Luke passed him the datapad.

"Uh, listen," he said quietly, noticing a woman seated at the far end of the table. "She doesn't know about my father, right?"

"I haven't said anything," Mr Kyde said. "Would you rather I didn't?"

Luke nodded. "Please don't."

His teacher gestured for him to follow and led him over to the top end of the table.

"Luke, this is Ms Wava."

She smiled at Luke as he took a seat at a right-angle to her. Mr Kyde sat beside him.

"Pleased to meet you, Luke. Let me have a quick read of your answers."

Mr Kyde was already chuckling over them.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked, wondering what he'd said that was so funny.

"Name three things that are important to you when considering a career," Mr Kyde read aloud. "Adventure, excitement, and flying ships."

Luke nodded. "Also, I want to visit lots of different planets."

"Your academic record is good," Ms Wava said, scrolling down a list of grades. "You shouldn't have a problem pursuing a career as a pilot. Have you thought about the navy?"

"Yeah, I guess that's the obvious choice. It would be great to be part of a flight squad and have a callsign and everything. But, it could get boring if you get assigned to some Outer Rim sector and you spend all your time doing patrols. Also ... well, my father works with the navy, and I think it would be hard for me ... I'd get treated differently. I had an idea that I could maybe do a couple of years there to get a feel for things, and then move on to somewhere else."

Ms Wava nodded. "There are many non-military career opportunities for skilled pilots. You've mentioned here that you like helping people. Perhaps you'd be interested in working as a pilot for an aid organization, like the Medicorp or Food Relief."

"Is Food Relief still around?" Mr Kyde asked. "I think I read something a few months ago about an ISB investigation."

"I've never heard of them," Luke said. "What do they do?"

"They bring food relief to communities hit by famine. They are or were one of the biggest life aid organizations in the galaxy, second only to the Refugee Relief Movement. There were offices across hundreds of systems. Luke, how would you like to go through a prospectus for the naval academy, and read some fact sheets about aid workers and what they do?"

"Sounds great," Luke said. "I'll do some research on the HoloNet about Food Relief."

She took him through the naval academy entry requirements, and the dates he'd have to submit his application by. He had a moment of excitement when he realized he could actually skip his senior year of school and go directly to the academy as soon as he turned seventeen, but Mr Kyde was discouraging about that idea.

"You're a bright student, Luke, and you'll want to keep your options open. Completing your senior year is an important step."

"Yes, I can tell you have your heart set on being a pilot, but it's always good to have a couple of back up career ideas. Many of us will change our careers several times throughout our life."

Luke shrugged. "If I couldn't fly, I wouldn't mind working on ship design and maintenance. I like droids too."

Ms Wava produced the prospectus for the engineering school then, and Luke felt increasingly inspired as he browsed through all the courses in spaceflight and droid design. Maybe he could become a qualified pilot and get an engineering degree on the side. Although, four years did sound like a lot of study.

When the appointment came to an end, Luke thanked Ms Wava and then Mr Kyde accompanied him back into the corridor. The next student was already waiting, but his teacher closed the door behind him and turned to face him.

"Luke, have you had a chance to talk about doing the project with your father?"

"Um … not yet, but he's probably going to leave Coruscant soon. I had an idea for doing the project with my astromech droid. A day in the life of a droid. What do you think?"

"You could do a day in the life of a school administrator droid," B-60 said, swiveling his head around. "It will be riveting, I assure you."

"Thanks, B-60, but I think I'll pass."

"It does sound creative," My Kyde said. "But I'm not sure it will be much of a career project. No one can have a career as a droid."

"I beg to differ," B-60 said quietly.

"But if you're certain you'd like to do this, then go ahead. Whatever career we choose, we're going to work with droids, so it would be interesting to learn more about their daily routines."

"Maybe my project could be about droid advocacy. Yeah. Droids can't choose their career, but we can. Are droids happy with their lack of choice?"

"No," B-60 said.

"Perhaps you could document the opinions of a variety of different droids," Mr Kyde said. "I'm sure B-60 will be happy to help."

"Great. I'll start planning after school today."

This had turned out better than expected. Not only did he have some ideas for what he was going to do with his career, but now he also had a project that could well be interesting.

But then his teacher added one last thing, causing Luke's smile to fade.

"Once you have completed your project plan, just make sure your father has signed off on it. There is a permission form attached to the project brief that ensures he understands you will be spending a day out of school to complete the project."

That was a lot easier said than done when your father was a Sith Lord.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

Ben was starving after their last class and didn't want to talk about careers until he'd satisfied his more immediate needs at the fly-thru Galactic Guzzlebuster outlet. When they landed in the hangar at the Imperial Palace, they went up one level to the conference room and spread out the food. Luke brought up the HoloNet on the main screen, while Ben unpacked his homework.

"Doctor Leeson replied to my message," Luke said, glancing at his datapad. "I'll send it on to you. He says there would be patient privacy issues preventing you from shadowing him, but he has a friend at the university that you can do the project with."

Ben nodded. "Sounds good. So you're really going with this droid project?"

Luke nodded. "But Mr Kyde said I have to get my father to sign the form that describes the project and permits me to take the day off to complete it. I need to figure out how to get him to sign it without reading it. Maybe I could tell him it's just a permission form for a class trip to the senate."

"Just tell him the truth. He'll likely sign it anyway."

"What if he really wants me to spend the day with him?"

Ben shrugged. "Haven't you ever thought about what it might be like?" he asked, unwrapping a second sandwich. "Ruling the galaxy?"

"I don't need to think about it," Luke said, sitting backward in the chair so he could rest his arms on the top. "I can see what it's like. You spend all your time attending meetings. And people bow and scrape whenever they see you. Then they pretend to be your friend when really they want to kill you and take your job."

"But it would be cool if you were Emperor. I could tell people, 'oh yeah, the Emperor's my best bud'. That is, if you'd still speak to me."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to be Emperor. I'd be terrible at it."

"You'd be fine. Anyway, by the time it happened, you'd be a lot older than you are now and probably have a better idea about what you could do with the job."

"So what would you do, if you were Emperor?"

Ben paused to take a bite of the sandwich, looking thoughtful. "Keep things running as they are now, I guess. Every time I watch the news, it seems like everything is going well."

"That's because they never report on what's really going on. My father was hunting down some organized crime syndicate that raided an Imperial base last week."

"See, that's why it could be interesting if you did the project with him," Ben said, changing the HoloNet to a news channel. "You could report back on what's really going on."

"He'd never take me out on a real mission."

The projector lit up with the spinning logo of the 'afternoon Galaxy Watch update', complete with dramatic music. But the first item was about a record-low crime rate in the core regions, and the second item was some celebrity nude holo scandal.

Both of them stopped eating, and Luke turned up the volume.

Unfortunately, Lev chose that moment to enter the room, not bothering to knock or use the door-comm. He started to say something, and then caught sight of the blurred-out image on the projector.

"Part of a homework assignment, is it?" he said, using the remote to switch it off.

"Hey, that was the news!" Luke protested.

"Yes, I believe you."

"It was! The afternoon Galaxy Watch update," Ben insisted.

"Ben, I was sixteen years old once," Lev said. His eye fell on the discarded fast-food wrappers, and he raised his eyebrows.

Luke grinned. "Ben ate most of it."

"Well, I hope you are both going to clean it up because your father has an actual meeting scheduled to take place here in twenty minutes.

Ben hastily started gathering the trash, while Luke took the easier route and summoned a cleaning droid.

"He won't even know we've been here, I promise," Luke insisted.

"Great." Lev turned to leave, but Ben interrupted him.

"Lev, do you think Luke should be Emperor?"

Lev stopped in his tracks and turned back. He glanced between Luke and Ben with a curious expression and then sat down in one of the empty swivel chairs.

"Is this about the career project?"

"How do you know about that?" Luke asked in surprise.

"Your school sent a newsletter about it yesterday. And there was another message today from your teacher. He mentioned you'd attended a meeting with a career advisor and wanted us to know he was available if your father had any concerns." Lev smiled. "Let me guess. You told them you wanted to be a pilot?"

Luke just groaned. "Please tell me you haven't told my father about this."

"I put the message in his personal queue, so he'll probably see it later on tonight."

"Can you get it back?"

Lev frowned in confusion. "What's the problem?"

Luke didn't reply. If Lev had to ask that, then he wasn't going to understand.

"He doesn't want to spend the day with him," Ben explained.

"That's not it," Luke said. "I doubt he'll even want me to spend the day with him. But if he finds out about the career advice meeting, he'll want to tell me all his own ideas about what I should do with my life, and it should be my decision, not his."

"Luke doesn't want to be Emperor," Ben added.

Luke gave him a look of suffering. "You say that like this is some kind of inherited title and I'm relinquishing my birthright."

"So what do you think, Lev?" Ben prompted.

Lev looked like he was considering his response carefully. Finally, he said, "I think it's disrespectful to talk about the Emperor's successors while the man himself is still living."

"Thank you," Luke said. "I completely agree."

"You? Respectful of the Emperor?" Ben said, smirking.

"Hey, as long as he keeps living, and prevents me from being the son of the Emperor, he has my complete and utter loyalty and respect," Luke said, putting his hand over his heart.

"Because being the son of the Emperor would make it a lot harder to deny the whole heir to the throne thing, that's for sure," Ben suggested.

"Can we change the subject? Why don't we talk about your career for a change." He looked at Lev. "Ben thinks he might want to be a doctor."

"Really? That's a nice idea."

Ben nodded. "Don't mention it to my father, though. He also has other ideas."

Lev smiled. "My father wanted me to be an accountant. Don't worry, he'll come around." He stood up to leave. "Listen, don't worry about this. I wasted far too much time worrying about my career at your age. You can enjoy any job if you have good coworkers and supportive management. Most people don't figure out what they want from their career until they are much older than you are now. Just follow your heart, and see where it takes you."

He smiled at Luke as he left, but Luke could see something sad in his eyes. It unsettled him, and he found he could no longer concentrate on his project plan. He swept it all back into his school pack, and then stood aside when the cleaning droid arrived, allowing it access to the table.

"Hey, look on the bright side," Ben said, as he joined him out in the corridor. "So maybe your father being who he is will rule out a few options. But it will gain you more. You'll easily be able to get into the most prestigious pilot training school in the galaxy."

Luke nodded. "I know. I don't mean to sound ungrateful. But I just want the chance to make my own decisions. So much of where my life has gone has been because of other people making choices for me." An old memory came flooding back into his mind. Being herded down the corridor at Imperial Family Services. Feeling trapped. Imprisoned. Feeling like his life was entirely under someone else's control. It caused a prickly sensation in his neck, and he glanced at Ben.

"I feel like a break. Want to go play some beep ball?"

"Didn't you say you found your hoverboard on Mustafar last weekend?"

"Oh, yeah." Luke brightened. "Let's take it downstairs and see if it still works." He smirked. "If being a pilot falls through, I guess there's always 'professional hoverboarder'."

Ben chuckled. "I could see it."

* * *

The boy was a mere fourteen years old according to the security report. His height, greyish skin, and thin hair suggested a Pau'an-human hybrid. Vader cast his gaze past the vaguely terrified expression, past a freshly forming bruise on his chin, and down to the logo on his ill-fitting clothes. Imperial Family Services. So, that's what had attracted Luke's attention.

He lowered the datapad and looked down through the floor-to-ceiling windows, to where he could see Luke and his friend far below. They appeared to be up to something in one of the main entrance halls of the palace. Judging by the sensations of youthful excitement he could sense along their bond, it was likely something ill-advised.

This sensation was soon disrupted by a presence at the opposite end of the scale. Older, patient, and calculating. Mas Amedda.

"He's due to appear in court this morning," the Grand Vizier said, nodding towards the datapad. "It would save the justice department some money if you could quietly take care of it."

"He is a mere child," Vader said, still focused on Luke.

"That doesn't usually bother you."

"Luke has asked for clemency," Vader amended. "Perhaps a youth rehabilitation program. ISB can arrange it."

Mas Amedda nodded while leaning forward to see what had captured Vader's attention down below. Luke was now streaming up and down on a hoverboard, while Ben kept a lookout for any guards. He was fairly certain he had confiscated that board and hidden it on Mustafar.

"Have you noticed anything unusual about the Emperor's mood lately?" Mas Amedda asked, in a casual tone.

Down below, Commander Julius had stepped out of an elevator and was clearly telling Luke in no uncertain terms to get off the hoverboard. She stood with her hands on her hips as Luke sheepishly obeyed.

"He has been melancholy," Vader noted. "But that is not unusual when one is communing with the Force."

"He seems to be feeling his mortality. His heart surgery is scheduled for tomorrow."

Vader looked up in surprise. "Surgery?"

Mas Amedda nodded. "You weren't aware? I'm told it's a routine procedure for a man of his years." He glanced around, as if to make sure they were alone, and then said, "I understand your human life expectancy isn't much beyond eighty in any case."

"Age is a different matter for the Sith."

"But still. If something were to go wrong, we would have an incredible mess on our hands. He has refused to name a successor. I am familiar with your Sith way of the apprentice disposing of the master, but that will not go down well with the Senate."

"The Senate is a relic."

"I agree, but they are still essential. You would need my help to control them. Likewise, I would need your help to control the military. And let's not start on Krennic's little project and the Moffs. We could easily have another galactic civil war on our hands."

"I have sensed no disturbance in the Force."

"It may not be this week or next. But as we say on Champala, the most constant thing in life is death."

Like most politicians, Mas Amedda was difficult to read. He was also very risk-averse, and Vader knew he would not raise such a sensitive topic without a purpose. He hopefully knew better than to attempt to manipulate him, but it could never be ruled out.

"What do you suggest?" Vader asked.

He gestured down towards the floor.

"Royalty is in his blood. He has a natural charisma about him that many politicians would kill for. Look at how well the palace staff respond to him."

Commander Julius had gone from scolding the boys to laughing with them, and Luke was now sitting cross-legged on the hoverboard.

"He could easily be molded into a people's prince. You could continue to control the military, and I could handle the senate. Meanwhile, he would be a perfect face of a new, more enlightened era of peaceful rule. A forward-thinking institution not fixated on massive super weapons."

Vader stared at Luke, knowing everything Mas Amedda said was true, while also wondering how anyone could possibly look at that child and see an Emperor.

"He is a boy."

"He is older than his mother was when she was a queen."

Vader ignored the remark. "I would never consider putting such a burden on him until he was at least eighteen. Twenty would be better."

"I could at least draw up the documents. In case of an emergency situation."

Vader breathed through a few cycles, imagining the danger Luke would be in if the Emperor should ever discover such documents existed.

"I did not survive politics for as long as I have without knowing how to be discrete," he continued as if privy to his thoughts. "I will ensure the only people aware of their existence is the present company." He looked down at Luke again. "In the meantime, you should see about improving his education. He needs to spend his time with his peers in the ruling class, not the son of a mere guard."

Perhaps it was a sign of his own strange mood today, but the words made him feel defensive of Luke's awkward friend.

"Who he spends time with is not your concern." Vader turned away. "I will meditate on this. It will require … some thought."

* * *

Luke's presence in the Force was a mesmerizing thing. Some days, it was just a quiet buzz of youthful energy, like the sound of water lapping against a lakeshore. At other times, like this evening, it was like hearing a podracer engine break through the silence of a desert morning. His son burst into the conference room, a wide grin on his face and arm already outstretched towards the holo projector.

"You've gotta see this," he said, switching it on and quickly finding the right channel. "It's the latest craze. Jetpack racing."

The projector filled with the determined expression of a human woman, barreling towards the camera. The shot changed to hover overhead, showing the jetpack hurtling her forward at high speeds.

"This swamp is full of methane gas," Luke said. "One wrong move from the racers and the gas ignites their jetpacks. Boom!" He hit the table for emphasis. "Whoever thought this up is a genius."

Vader was equal parts impressed and appalled at the sight. Twenty racers streaked past the projector field, some clearly more skilled than others. "If you even think about trying this, I will find out who thought up this ridiculous sport and have them killed."

Luke gave him a look like he couldn't figure out whether he was being serious, and then clearly decided it wasn't worth the risk.

"I don't even know where to buy a jetpack."

Vader was about to use the Force to switch it off, but he found himself watching despite himself. One of the contestants had pulled out a blaster, and the race was threatening to turn into a shoot out.

"That's Floyd," Luke said, gesturing at the Gran racer. He was sliding his chair around the table, closer to Vader. "He's the favorite to win but he's a no-good cheater if you ask me. I like Cahlep ... she's ancient. Forty years old and still racing!"

Vader glanced at Luke, wondering if he'd heard right. Forty years old was ancient?

"She's like the grandma of this sport," Luke continued, "but she still does pretty well. But my favorite is Becker. He's fearless."

The smooth Becker was blazing up the field, black goggles reflecting the flashes of exploding gas around him.

"It is a sad reflection on the racing industry that this is even legal," Vader said.

Luke groaned. "You are so _old_."

"What?"

Luke gestured at the projector. "It looks like such a rush. Live on the edge for once."

Vader was momentarily unable to respond. Luke was the first person ever to accuse him of being too cautious. Either this meant Luke was so reckless, it made him look staid in comparison, or he had somehow become the very thing that used to frustrate him as a young man.

"I am not old," Vader insisted.

Luke smirked. "Why? How old are you?"

Vader didn't reply.

"You may not be as old as Cahlep, but I'm sixteen now, so you must be over thirty-five. That's _old_."

"It is not old. And if you are trying _again_ to discover my birthdate so you can use it as an excuse to eat cake, you will be disappointed."

"Wait a minute …" Luke said, counting on his fingers. "Maybe you are as old as Cahlep! See this is what happens when you refuse to celebrate your birthday. You turn forty and don't even get to celebrate being ancient!"

Vader was distracted from this irritating conversation by the sight of a jetpack igniting. The racer it was attached to managed to eject it, and then fell a hundred meters into a safety net while the pack exploded above them. The racers coming up behind had to swerve to avoid it.

The rest of the race played out in a bizarre series of accidents that resulted in half the participants being sidelined. Luke's favorite, Becker, trailed behind until the last minute when he released a second stage to his jetpack, that sent him careening wildly to the finish line. It also released a thick cloud of smoke that obscured the view of the other racers, and at least two of them crashed.

A scrolling banner revealed what the payout would be for the spectators who had bet on Becker.

"Gambling is a means by which the powerful exploit the weak," Vader started. "This so-called sport is a perfect example of what happens when—" He trailed off, becoming aware Luke was now so close he was almost touching him. He also had his hands all over the computer terminal.

"What are you doing?"

Luke shot back. "Nothing!"

Vader glanced at the screen. It showed his personal message inbox. "Did you distract me in order to read my mail?"

"No!"

"Lies," Vader said, opening the first message, which was clearly from one of Luke's teachers. "What is it? Did you misbehave at school?"

Luke buried his face in his arms and his reply was unintelligible.

Vader was already skimming through the message, dreading what he would read. But there was no mention of any destroyed buildings or burned out science labs. Merely a dry description of some appointment Luke had attended and what was discussed. There was a document attached describing a project which presumably he had to complete.

"You attended an appointment with a career advisor," Vader noted.

Luke had propped his head up on an elbow. "Yes. It's Career Week."

"Why did you attempt to hide this from me?" Vader said, opening the document.

"No reason," Luke insisted.

It only took a moment for understanding to dawn. The words stood out plainly in the opening paragraph.

_Students will spend a day out of class with a parent or another trusted adult. They will answer all the questions on the career survey and learn more about their parent's chosen career. Students will then present on their experience to the rest of the class._

"So you are required to spend a day with me as part of a school project."

"Or another adult!" Luke insisted. "I'm not _required_ to spend a day sitting around watching you run the galaxy."

His son's tone suggested such a thing would be akin to watching a planet rotate.

"You find my career uninteresting?"

"Well, let's face it, you spend most of your time in meetings."

"That is an exaggeration." Even as he said it, Vader found himself recalling just how many meetings he had attended in the last five hours. Well, today was a bad example.

"Is running the galaxy really what you dreamed about doing when you were my age?" Luke asked, his tone becoming serious.

Vader had a particular serious warning tone he always used whenever Luke felt a need to push at the ban on questions about his past, but he found he was unable to summon it. This was all striking a little too close to the unexpected conversation he'd had with Mas Amedda. His reply was half-hearted. "I am not going to answer that."

Luke frowned, looking away. Disappointment flowed back along their bond.

"If you find my occupation so tedious, then I will not insist you spend time with me. This entire project sounds like an elaborate plan for the teachers to avoid working."

"It wasn't about avoiding spending time with you. Most of what you do is secret, anyway, and I couldn't share it with the class."

"Did you have another idea?" Vader asked, going back to the first message, about the career advice appointment.

Luke's mood had brightened considerably. This was obviously going better than he'd hoped. "I was thinking about a pilot. Maybe one of the squads based on Coruscant."

"Absolutely not."

"Why?"

"If I am to entrust you for an entire day to someone else's care, they will at least be someone who won't be manipulated into letting you loose in a TIE fighter."

"I figured," Luke said. "I guess I'll be doing the back-up idea. I was going to spend the day with Artoo and do the project on the day in the life of an astromech droid."

"You would do better to spend the day with someone who could teach you some maturity and wisdom." Vader considered it, and then said, "I will ask the Grand Vizier."

Luke's eyes widened. "No! No way. His job looks even more boring than yours!"

"Luke, you are not a child anymore," Vader said, feeling his temper fray at his son's whining tone. "As my son, you are highly placed in the Imperial hierarchy, and it is time you turned your mind to more serious matters, instead of looking for your next source of entertainment."

Luke was silent, subdued.

"Instead of spending your evening watching the HoloNet, I want you to go back to your room and think about changes you can make in your life to begin preparing yourself for the responsibilities of adulthood. I will schedule a meeting with you tomorrow to discuss your ideas."

"Come on," Luke said, looking at him with an expression of mortification. "I have enough work to do for my classes."

"Is that why I saw you playing with a hoverboard as if you were a child?"

"No, I … I was just taking a break."

"An extended break, it seems."

Luke gave a loud, long-suffering sigh and then stood up. "Fine."

He left the room quickly, sending annoyance and frustration through their link. A moment later, he was heard entering his bedroom. Vader knew exactly what he would do in there too … sit cross-legged on his bed and sulk.

The very idea of that boy being ready to be an Emperor anytime soon was laughable. Mas Amedda would quickly reach this conclusion himself after spending a day with him.

He closed down the message from Luke's school and set about reading the rest of the mail. There were three tactical reports and five various meeting minutes. Perhaps Luke had a point ...

The further he read, the less he could concentrate. He didn't want to admit that something so petty and insignificant was bothering him but ignoring it wasn't making it go away. Perhaps there was more than one reason why he had turned down the idea of Luke doing his school project with a random navy pilot. It wasn't just about keeping Luke safe. If he was honest with himself, the idea that Luke found a run-of-the-mill pilot's job more interesting than his own riled him.

_He_ was a pilot. He didn't just attend meetings and read reports, no matter what his inbox looked like right now. He was among the action as often as he could be.

In fact, right now he was going to engage in some lightsaber practice. That was a suitable thing for a young, active Sith Lord to do with his time.

Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he could almost hear Luke's voice saying, "When was the last time you actually used your lightsaber in battle?"

It may have been a few months. Three months. Maybe slightly longer. It would have been less time if he hadn't been trying to spend more time on Coruscant for Luke's benefit. Why did he bother, when his son felt he was so boring, he would rather spend a day with a droid?

* * *

"Let me guess," Ben said when he climbed into the speeder the next morning. "Your father found out about the career project?"

Luke sighed, wondering why he didn't just broadcast his feelings over the HoloNet if his face was so easily read.

"He did."

"And now you have to do the project with him?"

"No. He wants me to do it with the Grand Vizier."

Ben frowned. "You mean the guy who once caught us playing laser tag in the library? I thought he was never going to stop going on about how we could have destroyed priceless artifacts!"

"That's the one," Luke said. "I guess he's okay when he's not mad. I mean, there are much worse people on the upper floors of the palace. But an entire day?"

"Maybe you could try and talk your father into letting you do the project with my dad after all."

"I don't think so. He seemed … I don't know, it was almost like he was afraid about something. But instead of saying what it was, he started lecturing me about maturity."

"I think all parents like to break out that lecture."

"He wants me to write a list of changes I can make in my life to be more responsible."

"Get a personality transplant?" Ben suggested.

His friend was only teasing, but it made Luke feel worse. Maybe he was immature. There were times when he felt like many of the other students in his class acted older than he did. Sometimes people who were his age or just a little older acted like he was some innocent bantha calf who needed protection. His own father behaved like that more often than not. He'd had to show ID to traffic officers on more than one occasion, and they remarked he looked 'young for his age'.

It was a horrible feeling, that he didn't measure up in some way. That there was some standard for basic maturity that he'd failed to meet. But the thought of having to put away his hoverboard for good? Did becoming an adult really mean you were never allowed to have fun ever again?

When lunchtime rolled around, he still had made little progress on the list for his father, and he was growing anxious about it. His father had scheduled their meeting for twenty-thirty that night, and if he came up with nothing, he'd be in for at least a half-hour lecture.

"What do you have so far?" Ben asked after Luke gave in and asked his friend for assistance.

"Let's see … I've got … putting away the hoverboard. Keeping my bedroom neat and orderly. Being more serious. But that last one sounds silly."

"Maybe you need to ask an actual adult what changes they had to make to become more mature."

"I could ask Mr Kyde, I suppose," Luke said. "He's always serious. Hardly ever jokes around with the class."

"Hey, here's an idea," Ben said. "Grow a beard. That's a mature thing to do."

Luke was about to dismiss the idea, and then he found himself looking at a nearby table where a group of seniors were gathered to watch a holo on someone's viewscreen. Two of the boys had small, carefully sculpted beards. His hand found its way to his chin, and he rubbed at it, wondering.

Then someone sat down on the bench beside him, causing the table to shake.

"Hey, Luke, Ben."

Luke glanced over, smiling when he saw it was Greein. "Hey. Happy birthday!"

"Thanks," Greein said, grinning. He was seventeen today and was the type to enjoy the resulting attention. "My brothers have organized some private drinks later on. I'll give you the address."

"Drinks?" Luke said. "Like … at a _bar_ , drinks?"

Greein reached out to pat his shoulder while he wrote the address on his datapad. "Yes, Luke. Don't worry, you'll be fine."

"Will we need fake ID?" Ben asked, also sounding confused.

"No, it's a private event in their upstairs lounge," Greein said. "Just give the bouncer droids the code I've written here and they'll let you through."

"What time does it start?" Luke asked, remembering about the responsibility meeting. "I might have to leave early."

"I know, it's a school night," Greein said. "We're meeting around 18-hundred and it's just for a few hours. I'm not inviting that many."

He started to stand up, but Luke gestured for him to wait. "Hey. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Do you think I'm immature?"

Greein smirked. "You didn't ask out a senior, did you?"

"No!"

"His father is worried he isn't going to be ready to help rule the galaxy in a couple of years unless he gets a move on with the maturity thing," Ben explained.

"Ah. See this is why being the youngest son of an archduke is great," Greein said. "No one cares if I'm immature. All the responsibility falls on my older sister and brothers."

"So I need to tell my father to adopt an older, more responsible sibling," Luke said, pretending to note it down.

"You're fine, Luke," Greein said. "Your hopeful innocence is why people like you. But if you ever feel like you're ready to gain more experience with the ways of the galaxy, I can help. We'll take you to a few classy lower level bars … introduce you to some friendly women … or other genders, depending on what fuels your engine. Before you know it, you'll be a man, if you know what I mean."

Luke raised an eyebrow, staring at his list. He'd never even considered that.

Ben was smirking now. "Are you 'a man', Greein?"

Greein winked. "A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell."

"So, no, in other words," Ben said.

Greein gestured for them to lean closer and spoke in a hushed tone. "Three months ago, during my brother's Beautillion Ball. My childhood crush, Haly, was invited and … we got talking. Then we got talking down in the speeder parking bay." He smirked. "Lucky it had tinted windows. No one even noticed we were gone for hours."

Luke shook his head. "How does that even work?"

Greein stared at him. "You don't know? You mean … your father never had the talk? Wait, what am I saying. Of course _your father_ never had the talk. He's too busy being awesome all over the galaxy for that."

Luke raised his hands. "No, I mean … how do you even fit two people next to each other? You'd end up bashing your head and getting poked by the controls if you tried that in my speeder."

"That's because your speeder is built for speed and acceleration, not an evening of passionate lovemaking," Greein said. He used his viewscreen to bring up an image of a stretched luxury speeder with padded passenger seats and a carpeted interior. "This was what her speeder was like." He sighed wistfully. "I wish I could invite her tonight, but my brothers said boys only. Not sure why. They've probably got some baby holos and didn't want to embarrass me."

He patted Luke's shoulder again as he stood up to leave. "See you tonight."

Ben was still smirking after Greein had gone. "Well, there's an item for your list," he suggested. "Gain more experience with women."

Luke cringed, knowing he was already blushing. "My father would have a heart attack."

"Yes, and he'd probably lay off on the responsibility lecture. Or maybe he really would give you the talk."

"I'm not sure what would be worse."

"My father said something when I was going out with Tesa," Ben said. "That he has a few regrets from high school because he thought becoming a man meant dating a lot of different girls and boasting about what he'd done with them. But now that he's older he's realized he was never more immature than during that phase of his life. He says maturity is about treating people with respect, understanding who you are, and knowing what's right for you."

Luke pushed the datapad aside, feeling more confused than ever. "I wish my father felt the same. I treat people with respect … at least, I think I do. I understand who I am … I'm a farmboy from Tatooine who loves flying and wants to do it for the rest of my life. And I know ruling the galaxy isn't right for me." He made a show of deleting everything from the list. "I give up. I'm going to show up to this 'meeting' with a blank list and tell him to go ahead and lecture me about responsibility if that's what he wants to do because I've got nothing."

"Maybe he'll have calmed down about everything by this evening anyway," Ben said. "Who knows … he could be having a really good day."

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

"Lord Vader!"

If someone shouted his name in that vaguely panicked tone one more time today, he was going to choke the person responsible. The young officer skidded up beside him, where he stood in the IMH main command center, watching the carnage unfold on the giant holoprojector.

"Sir, the Grand Vizier requests a private audience," he said, in a more respectful tone.

Vader wondered exactly which crisis he wanted to speak about. There were a number to choose from. The ISB raid on the senate offices which had revealed illegal recordings of Imperial troops quelling protests on Zenth. The bombing of a banking data center on Scipio. This insurgent attack on the supply line fuel depot at Kastasis. He turned away without acknowledging the officer, heading towards the comms room located at the top of the command center.

When Mas Amedda appeared, he was tapping his fingers impatiently on his desk, but his tone was measured.

"Lord Vader. How goes our response to the attacks on Scipio and Kastasis?"

"Scipio is under control, but the violence is escalating on Kastasis. We are sending reinforcements from the training center base in the region."

"I have received an update on the situation on Lovif Third. It will be another hour at least."

Lovif Third was their code term for the Emperor's heart surgery. It was supposed to have finished half an hour ago. The longer the Emperor was absent, the higher the chance one of the Moffs might become suspicious, especially if a worse incident was to occur, and they received no summons to attend a ruling council meeting.

"I may require your presence in the palace if the senator requests a meeting."

"I will return when I can," Vader said. "The senator can await my convenience."

The senator referred to the man whose computer had been found to hold the recordings of the violence against the protesters on Zenth. He was in interrogation at the moment, denying all knowledge of their origin. His execution before sundown would normally be a given, but as his master had made clear in the past, he was the only one who could authorize the execution of a senator. He also liked such things to be handled carefully, within the privacy of the palace. It remained to be seen when the Emperor would be lucid enough to have an opinion on the matter.

It was times like this he found himself second-guessing his entire future vision for this vast and galactic government. Overthrowing his master and taking his place was always the plan. The Dark Side demanded it. Justice demanded it, after all Palpatine's years of lies and manipulations. But he had no desire to spend his days doing … _this_.

In that regard, the Grand Vizier's idea of using Luke as a people's Emperor was enticing. Perhaps, between the two of them, they could mold the galaxy into something resembling order. Something that didn't require dividing one's attention between multiple conflicts while also trying to keep the senate from dissolving into open rebellion.

If he had even the slightest indication Luke was ready for such a task, he would be sorely tempted to take advantage of Palpatine's moment of weakness and end his reign right now. Despite what his master thought, such a dishonorable end was entirely possible at his hands. Considering the way Darth Plagueis had died, it would be fitting.

But Luke was reckless and impatient and … a boy.

Something only time could change.

* * *

Acting older started with dressing older. Ben had looked up the address of this venue where Greein was hosting his birthday drinks, and it was in a swanky part of Imperial City, so Luke spent some time going through his closet to find a dress tunic and pants that weren't covered in pockets. He even gave his speeder a clean and polish, wanting it to stand out on the nightclub landing pad.

Ben had dressed much the same, wearing a black outfit he'd purchased last time he'd had to attend a family wedding. It was a weeknight, so they easily found a parking spot not too far from the venue, and they stepped out onto a walkway lined with neon advertising.

" _Liquid Vortex,_ " Ben said, reading off his datapad. "It's just around the corner."

They were both surprised to find a line of people waiting to get in, corralled from the sidewalk by a red ribbon threaded between gold posts. Shortly after they joined the back of it, standing behind a couple of Givin women in sparkling cocktail dresses, one of the venue bouncer droids rolled down to speak to them.

"Good evening. Are you here for the Laugh Festival?"

"Ah, no, we're attending a private event upstairs," Luke said.

Ben held up the datapad with the code, and the droid immediately unhooked the ribbon to allow them out of the line.

"Please, follow me."

It felt like they were VIPs when they were led past all the waiting adults and through the main entrance. It was a large club, with a dance floor, a bar, and several seating areas, including a mezzanine. Down the far end was a stage and a loud audience gathered for the Laugh Festival, whatever that was. The lighting was dark in some areas and glowing purple in others.

The droid showed them to a transparent elevator, and they rode up two floors to the private lounge. There they were met by more droid staff who again checked they had the code and took down their names. As they entered the fancy lounge, a droid on wheels approached to ask them what they'd like to drink.

"Um … some juice, I suppose," Luke said.

The droid then rattled off ten different varieties of juice, until Luke felt the beginnings of a headache. Fortunately, Greein popped up from one of the booth seats and came over to welcome them.

"Luke, Ben! Come, help yourself to the food … these are my brothers."

What followed was a lot of names and faces that Luke tried to remember, including a few cousins. There were also some other boys they already knew from school, plus some that Greein knew from a social club he belonged to, and several who were friends of his brothers. His family had made a holo display, and they amused themselves with teasing Greein about some of his baby pictures before he had to go and greet the next arriving guests.

Ben sampled everything on offer at the buffet, and then came back from the drinks table with a couple of glasses of soda, much to Luke's relief. When Greein saw him sipping it, he smirked in a way that Luke knew meant he'd soon be getting some grief.

"Luke. Luke, Luke, Luke," he said, sidling up beside him. "You need to at least try a cocktail before you go home. This place does the best cocktails in Imperial City."

"I'm flying," Luke insisted.

"You'll be fine with just one … they're not strong. Just have half a one if you're worried."

"I'm not _worried_ ," Luke said, not wanting Greein to think he was some anxious kid. "Sure, I'll try one."

Ben smirked. "You're going to try your first real drink? Nice."

"It's not my first!" Luke insisted. It was though. His friends could easily see through the lie, as Greein was already summoning a serving droid.

"A Liquid Vortex special for my buddy here," he said, putting an arm around Luke. "An all 'round great guy with an awesome father."

Luke glanced around, concerned some of the other guests would hear Greein and ask questions about the identity of the 'awesome father'. But no one looked in their direction.

The droid returned a moment later with the cocktail on a tray. Luke picked it up and then took a tentative sip on the straw. It left a tingle in his mouth like soda, but the flavor was more bitter than sweet, and it had an odd minty aftertaste, like toothpaste. He screwed up his face, but his friends were too busy applauding to notice.

"I'd say you're all grown up now, but that will have to wait until you're ready for something stronger," Greein said, clapping him on the back so hard the cocktail slopped over the edge of the glass. He then spied another friend arriving, and wandered off to greet them, leaving Luke staring at the cocktail, wondering if all his milestones were going to be this disappointing.

"Pour some juice in it if it's not sweet enough," Ben suggested.

Luke had a few more sips and then took out the straw and took a big mouthful, getting down about half of it, and then gave up. "Do you want the rest?"

"Sure," Ben said, picking up a fresh straw. "My cousin Kavig told me it's an acquired taste. Like caf. Remember when you thought that was too bitter?"

Personally, Luke thought the cocktail had been far worse than his first taste of caf. But everyone else seemed to be enjoying the drinks, so maybe there was just something wrong with his tastebuds.

But Ben only had a single sip and then pushed it away. "No, you're right. I don't think you're supposed to drink something like that straight after a sweet soda."

Luke's attention was soon attracted away from the cocktail by the sight of a holographic pool-type game in the corner by the windows, currently being put to use by a couple of boys who looked like they could be twin brothers. He'd seen games like that on Tatooine, but nothing so fancy. They wandered over and he and Ben joined in for the next round. Ben managed to win by a single point, and then he played one of Greein's cousins, while Luke chatted to the twin brothers. They explained theirs and Greein's family went back a long way, and they happened to be visiting Coruscant this week. Haly, the childhood crush Greein had mentioned, was their sister.

"So where do you normally live?" Luke asked.

"On Lisvian Morta, mostly," the more talkative one said. His name was Ramos, and his more quiet brother was Raul. "But our parents love traveling so we get around."

"Where's the best place you've been?"

They rattled off the names of several planets that all sounded amazing, and Luke found himself wishing his father would take him to even one of these places. Ramos smiled at his enthusiasm.

"So you don't get away from Coruscant much?" he said, gesturing in the direction of the sky.

"Not as much as I'd like."

"You don't sound like you're from around here, though."

"I grew up in the Outer Rim. I don't suppose your parents have ever taken you to Tatooine."

They both smiled then. "We've been to every Hutt-controlled planet in that part of the galaxy," Ramos said. "Our parents love Hutt dinner theater."

A waiter droid rolled past, and Ramos waved a hand in front of its face. "Hey, can you bring us some Jawa Juice?"

"Jawa juice?" Luke asked. "That's not … made from jawas?"

His new acquaintances laughed, but it was meant seriously.

"Make it three," Ramos said to the droid. At the sight of Luke's nervous expression, he added, "It's made from bantha hide. Just a little taste of home. No jawas, I promise."

"Oh. Well … I like bantha steak, so I'll give it a try."

"Where do you know Greein from then?" Raul asked, speaking for the first time.

"School. I'm in most of his classes. Same with Ben there."

"So do you know Lord Vader's son? Greein said he'd invited him."

"Uh …" Luke thought quickly. It was interesting talking to these two, and he didn't want to ruin it. Strangers usually had two reactions to learning about his parentage, neither of them conducive to conversation. "I do but … I haven't seen him arrive yet."

"Let us know if he does show because I'd like to meet him," Ramos said. "Stars, can you imagine what he would be like?"

"He's just like anyone else," Luke said.

"Really? Because I'd expect them to keep a guy like that wrapped in three layers of wool and surrounded by security droids."

Raul nodded in agreement.

"Why?" Luke asked.

"Well, his father has a lot of enemies, right? And they probably want this kid to grow up to help rule the Empire. Can't do that if he's dead."

Luke was starting to feel uneasy. Maybe he should end this conversation before it went downhill any further. But before he could open his mouth, the serving droid had returned with three tall glasses of a brown-colored liquid. Luke took a sip and found it was less unpleasant than the cocktail. He could definitely taste the bantha in it.

The conversation moved on to upcoming Coruscant music festivals, and soon there was cheering from the pool table as Ben's opponent won the round. It was his turn now, and he quickly downed the last of the glass to go and pick up the cue.

There were so many flashing lights and sounds coming from the gaming table, and other party guests coming over to watch, Luke found he could barely concentrate on getting the glowing discs to bounce into the holes, and it was a relief when the game finally came to an end and he could hand the cue off to Ramos. His head felt hot and he needed to go somewhere cooler. Ben was nowhere in sight, so he walked a short way down the stairs, and then to a gate that led out onto the mezzanine floor overlooking the main nightclub. But there was a bouncer droid waiting on the other side, who immediately held up a long appendage to block his path.

"Good evening, young human. May I see your identification?"

Luke fumbled at his pockets and then pointed upstairs. "I just came from the party."

"I need to see your ID before granting you access to the public licensed premises. You must be over eighteen standard years under Coruscant law."

"Never mind," Luke said, turning around. Maybe there was a balcony upstairs.

Then, before he could even gather the energy to place one boot on the glowing staircase, something made him turn back. There was a stormtrooper walking past the gate, on the other side of the droid. He had a friend with him, a Quarren, and the music was too loud for Luke to hear their conversation. But everything in his increasingly cloudy head was urging him to go and talk to that stormtrooper.

But somehow time was slower in the place he was standing, and the stormtrooper was long out of his sight before he'd even moved down the transparisteel barrier to see where he'd gone. There was a brief glimpse of white armor at the top of the stairs to the ground level below.

Luke glanced back and saw the bouncer droid was distracted with a woman looking for directions to the refresher. His body responded now, and he easily slipped behind the droid and then skidded up to the barrier. A moment later, he'd hoisted himself up and over and landed right in front of the stormtrooper.

The Quarren made a noise of surprise, while the stormtrooper just stared.

"LJ!" Luke shouted, feeling a rush of familiarity. "LJ-151! I saw you from upstairs and … I can't believe you're here?"

He hadn't seen this stormtrooper since he'd last been back to visit Family Services, which wasn't a time in his life he wanted to remember. But LJ had been one of his better memories from that time.

"You remember me, don't you?!" Luke asked, feeling his stomach twist into a knot.

"Luke?"

"Yes! Yes, I'm Luke. You remember!"

"Hey, calm down, buddy," LJ said, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. He looked at his Quarren friend. "I'll join you in a bit."

The man nodded and left them alone. Luke put his face in his hands, struggling not to let his emotions spiral out of control. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too," LJ said, guiding him over to a nearby table. "But what are you doing in a nightclub? You can't be that old yet."

"My friend is having a birthday party upstairs in their private lounge," Luke explained, resting his hands on the table. He could see his fingers tapping from nervous energy. "Are you working here?"

"I wish. No, I'm working as part of a lower-level street patrol. But I am performing here tomorrow night as part of the Laugh Festival comedy contest so I just thought I'd check out some of my competition."

Luke grinned. "Performing? You mean you've really made it as a stand-up comedian?"

"Do you sound surprised?"

Luke shook his head. "I'm so surprised to see you, though. Sometimes … sometimes it feels like that time in my life wasn't even real." He felt emotional then, and his throat grew tight. A serving droid rolled past and Luke waved a hand towards it, just as he'd seen Ramos do.

"Could you please bring me a large Jawa Juice?"

"Make it two," LJ said.

The droid acknowledged them with, "At once, sirs," and rolled off towards the nearest drinks station.

"What can you win in the Laugh Festival?" Luke asked. "Does the audience vote?"

LJ nodded. "Yep and there are judges too. The top three finalists win cash and they also get invited to perform on Late Nights with Sis."

"Hey! I've seen that show!"

Sisarli was a Besalisk who did a nightly HoloNet show where she interviewed guests and poked fun at the day's news. She had billboards up all over Coruscant, and it was the type of show that could launch a career.

"You have to win, LJ. I'd watch if you were on. I'd get all my friends to watch too."

"So where are you now?" LJ said, his voice giving away his concern. The helmet was unreadable as always. "You look good, so I know you're not living on the street. Last time I saw you, you said you'd been adopted. But I know it wasn't by that rich senator. The administrator said it was someone important and all your records were deleted."

"Yes, I …" Luke stared at his distorted reflection on the table surface, wondering what to say. Then he thought of Ben. He'd borrowed his father before when he needed to hide the truth.

"I was adopted by a royal guard. He has another son too."

"Fancy. So you've been to the palace?"

Luke nodded. "Many times."

The droid returned with their drinks, and Luke found himself gulping it. LJ chuckled, a sound distorted through his helmet.

"Easy. They make this stuff strong here."

"What do you mean?" Luke said, looking into the glass. "I thought it was just made from bantha hide."

"You really shouldn't be in a bar, young fella," LJ said, shifting the glass back from him. "How old are you now? Fifteen?"

"Sixteen," Luke insisted, pulling it back and taking a defiant gulp.

"Still too young. This stuff …" He gestured at his own glass. "... should be avoided as long as possible. Or you'll end up a middle-aged standup comedian who can't hold down a relationship for more than six months."

"You're the best stormtrooper I've ever met," Luke insisted. "I have to do a career project for school and I wish I could do it with you." His eyes filled with tears then and he quickly looked down, hoping LJ wouldn't notice. "Do you ever think about your time at Family Services?"

"I try not to. I do think about some of the kids, though. I've wondered about you. It's a relief to see you're doing better than I thought. Even if you are in a bar. You're taking an air-taxi back home, right?"

Luke didn't reply. He was feeling a little light-headed. Maybe he should go and find Ben and get out of here.

Then, as if he'd summoned him using the Force, Ben appeared beside the table, with the bouncer droid beside him.

"Hey! Ben!" Luke said. "I just thought I should find you and … here you are!"

"Okay, you've obviously had a few more cocktails," Ben said, looking from Luke to LJ. "Uh … hi?"

"This is the best comedian stormtrooper ever," Luke said, gesturing to LJ. "LJ-151. His jokes are the funniest thing you'll ever hear on Coruscant."

"You said they were terrible last time I saw you," LJ said.

"As soon as I am eighteen and can be in here without this droid demanding my ID—" Luke gestured behind him at the bouncer droid, who was using its long appendages to make him stand up. "—I'm going to come here to see you. And I'm going to bring all my friends to see you. And …" Luke trailed off, forgetting where he was going with that.

"Oh boy, I guess I'm flying us home," Ben said, shaking his head.

"You take care, buddy," LJ said, reaching out to shake his hand as he was led away.

"You too. You too, LJ."

"Just don't drink anymore," Ben said, pushing him back up the stairs. "Eat something. Maybe you can sober up."

"I'm not drunk," Luke said. "See? I can navigate these stairs like a stair-navigating pro."

"I have seen far worse," the droid said, leading them back through the gate.

"Yes, thank you. Good droid," Luke said. "So what now?"

"Greein said something about birthday cake soon so I thought I should find you," Ben said. "They're doing speeches right now."

When they re-entered the party, they found some seats near the buffet, and Greein's oldest brother was doing a speech that caused loud laughter every other sentence. Luke laughed in a few places too, although he wasn't entirely sure what the joke was. Something about Greein doing or saying something silly.

Then, just as he was starting to wish he could go and find LJ again, because he hadn't even said a proper _thank you_ to the man, the lights went dim and the music was louder and then everyone was clapping and cheering.

"What's going on?" Luke asked, wishing they'd all shut up. His head felt heavy.

"Oh, stars," Ben said, watching through partially covered eyes. "It's a stripper."

Luke glanced back and realized a woman had arrived inside some kind of holographic projection of a gift box. It dissolved into a sparkling projection of stars. She was currently clad all over in an outfit that appeared to be made from a long strip of shiny wrapping paper, and she passed one end of it to Greein.

He was laughing so much he was struggling to even tug at it properly, and one of his brothers had to help. She was wearing a tiny bikini underneath, and some of the boys in front had jumped up on the seats to see better, meaning Luke only saw glimpses of the dance between their bodies. After the song finished, a new one started, and there was some game going on involving a flashlight. Ben was still sitting with his hands partially covering his face, watching it all through his fingers.

Behind him, Luke saw an elaborate half-eaten cake in the middle of the buffet table and realized it must have been cut and served while he was talking to LJ. It looked so good, full of berry and chocolate filling, and before he even really thought it through, he'd walked over to get himself a slice. Just as he'd put a spoonful in his mouth, the flashlight shone in his face, and the woman appeared beside him.

"Uh, hello?" Luke said, spoon frozen in midair. He tried hard to keep his eyes on her face, as the top half of her bikini had somehow gone missing.

Then she began to dance up against him and Luke lurched backward. This mostly naked stranger was … too much. This entire night was too much. He stumbled back into the table amid lots of applause and laughter and then tried to disappear into the crowd, while some of the boys at the front pushed him back towards the woman.

But then the light was moved elsewhere, and another boy was the next participant in the dance, and Luke sighed with relief. Ben was waiting for him with a bemused expression.

"Smooth, Luke. Really smooth."

"Let's get out of here," Luke said. "I don't feel so good."

* * *

With his help, Ben found the button to lower the speeder's roof, and the fresh air on the flight back to the palace helped wash away the light-headedness. Everything he'd seen and experienced in the last hour went round and round his head, and he wasn't sure what was real anymore. Had he actually seen and spoken to LJ?

"Well, that was one _interesting_ party," Ben said, shifting into a traffic lane. "We're a lot less innocent now, that's for sure."

Luke was silent, staring out over the city.

"Let's just agree not to mention anything about the stripper to my dad," Ben continued. "Or to your father. _Especially_ to your father. What time was your meeting with him?"

"I have no idea," Luke said. "What's the time now?"

"21:10."

"Oh, I think I missed it," Luke said. "Well, he's going to be mad. But what's new."

"Is he likely to be around?" Ben said, sounding anxious.

"Maybe? Maybe not."

"Because I'm not sure if you can pass for sober right now."

"I'm fine."

"Maybe you should wait in the speeder and I could go ahead and make sure he isn't around. Or … I know! We can get Artoo or Threepio to distract him while you get up to your room and get in the shower."

"The shower?"

"Yes, and then clean your teeth. Twice. Wait … can your father smell anything through that mask? If not, you might be okay if you just don't talk to him."

"I'm fine!" Luke insisted. But his eyes filled with tears again as an image of LJ drifted through his mind. He dug for a tissue in the glove compartment and blew his nose.

"Uh … what's wrong?" Ben asked, sounding even more worried.

The tears were coming in fast now. "I did something terrible."

"What?"

"I saw this boy try and pickpocket an older couple at the mall. So I ran to intervene."

"That sounds really bad, Luke," Ben said, voice heavy with sarcasm. "And you already told me this."

"No, you don't understand," Luke said, angry now. "I fought him off and he was arrested! They took him away! I didn't even pay attention … he was wearing a Family Services shirt! Ben, I …" Luke wiped at his eyes. "I think I might have gotten someone killed."

"Okay, calm down," Ben said, in a soothing way like he was talking to a child. "I'm sure he wasn't killed."

"You don't know."

"I think you've just had too much to drink and your mind is playing tricks on you right now. Just rest up and it will seem better tomorrow."

Luke leaned back in the seat, looking up at all the sparkling lights of the air traffic above.

"Do you think this is what growing up is about?" he asked. "Feeling bad all the time because of stupid choices you made which you can't change? Knowing the world is terrible and you can't do anything about it? Feeling haunted by your past? Anxious about the future?"

Ben just sighed. "You know, you're a depressing drunk."

"I'm not drunk. I hardly had anything. I don't think. LJ took the second glass of Jawa Juice away from me."

"Why did you even drink that?"

"I thought it was juice! No one said it was … strong."

Ben was still working on his landings, and it was a little rocky coming into the hangar, but he brought it down gently into the landing bay without too much trouble.

"Well, I think you're safe," he said, glancing around. "No Sith Lords in sight."

"How are you going to get home?" Luke asked, climbing out. "Maybe I should ask one of the evening shift troopers to fly you back."

"My dad is on a later shift tonight," Ben said. "I'll just go home with him."

"Sorry about this," Luke said, rubbing his head as he walked around the speeder. "This night has been an absolute—"

"Arg!"

Luke started as Ben jumped back, hands raised. A two-meter tall Sith Lord had stepped out from behind a TIE fighter, arms already folded in the interrogation pose.

"Great," Luke mumbled.

"Um … I mean … hello! Sir," Ben said, in a cheerful tone that sounded very fake. "Sorry about Luke being late. We both lost track of the time and—"

His father unfolded one of his arms to point at Ben.

"Why were _you_ flying?"

Ben just looked like a womp rat frozen in a landspeeder's headlights. Then he waved a hand behind his back, gesturing for Luke to go to the elevator.

"Just … getting in some landing practice. I'm sitting my license soon and—"

Luke took a few steps towards the elevator, but Artoo appeared by his side, with a piercing greeting whistle. He tried to reach out to pat his dome, but he misjudged the distance and stumbled against him.

"Are you attempting to distract me from the fact that my son is clearly inebriated?" his father asked Ben.

"I'm fine!" Luke insisted. He finally managed to prop himself up against Artoo and pointed his free hand at his father. "I made a list for you and everything. But … then it vanished. But I tried, okay. I tried hard." He felt his eyes getting watery again and reached up to wipe at them. "I don't know how to be mature like you want."

Ben quickly raised his hands. Even he could sense his father's spiraling mood.

"He only had a couple of drinks! And he's a little … emotional right now. But he's fine."

"Where did you get these _drinks_?" his father asked, stepping closer. "Were you in the lower levels?"

"No, it was Greein's birthday," Ben said. "At the Liquid Vortex event lounge."

"Don't tell him that!" Luke said. "Stars, Ben."

"Silence," his father said. "Your friend is wise to tell me the truth." He beckoned to one of the guards at the elevator, who walked over quickly. Luke slumped down to rest with his back against the speeder, while Artoo nudged at him, beeping softly. When the guard was close enough, his father pointed at Ben.

"Take this young man to his father." He looked back at Ben. "I suggest you tell him exactly what you told me."

"Yes, sir," Ben mumbled.

Ben met Luke's gaze briefly as he was escorted away. Luke struggled back to his feet, and then felt himself grabbed by the top of his arm.

"Hey!" he protested.

His father relaxed his grip slightly but didn't release his hold. He was unceremoniously dragged over to his father's speeder and placed in the passenger seat. Just as his stomach began to feel queasy, he was also passed a silver container, of the type meant for storing tools.

"Hold this," his father said. "If you ruin my speeder, you will be cleaning it with a toothbrush."

"Where are we going?" Luke mumbled, closing his eyes.

His father only slammed the passenger door.

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

Doctor Leeson was at home when he received Vader's call, but he did not hesitate to agree to meet him at the medcenter. A delicate matter such as this required the highest levels of trust. Luke had managed to avoid upheaving the contents of his stomach and was now sitting on the examination bed, wearily answering the doctor's questions as he gave him a thorough examination. A blood sample was in the process of being analyzed by a medical droid.

When the results had been finalized, the doctor met with him in the adjacent room, leaving Luke to rest on the bed. His son had visited the refresher twice since they'd arrived and now appeared to be on the verge of dozing off.

"Everything matches exactly what Luke said he consumed," the doctor said, scrolling through the report one final time before handing it to him. "There's no sign of any spiking or other drugs. He didn't consume very much, but he does appear to have a low tolerance."

Vader couldn't take his eyes off Luke. There was nothing in his Force presence that indicated Luke was in any danger, but still, just the knowledge that he had willingly done this to himself was causing his anger to grow stronger.

The doctor had moved over to his desk, and after some rummaging, he produced a datapad.

"I have a brochure here from the Department of Health with some helpful advice for talking with Coruscant teenagers about alcohol."

Vader resisted his first instinct, which was to use the Force to throw the datapad against the wall. But he didn't reach for it.

"I'm sure you're upset right now, and that's natural," the doctor continued. "I have been through this with a couple of mine. I grew up in a place where the nearest bar was five hours' journey away, but I've had to accept that my children are here, the nightlife capital of the galaxy, and it's on offer every hour of the day. You only need to travel a few levels down and no one will even ask their age. The best thing I can do is teach them how to drink safely, and how to look after themselves and their friends."

"So, you have surrendered and accepted you have no authority over your children," Vader suggested.

"That is the problem when they reach this age," the doctor said, still calm. "They're fast becoming young adults, and yes, the authority you once had does naturally reach its end. All you can do is accept you've done your best and let go."

Vader turned and left the room, not trusting himself to keep his temper any longer. Luke had indeed dozed off, but he only had to shake his shoulder to rouse him.

"We're leaving," was all he said.

Luke rubbed his eyes but soon followed him without complaint.

Halfway back to the palace, Vader noticed he was again wiping tears from his eyes. He'd done that several times during the exam but had not responded to the doctor's gentle questions about what was upsetting him.

Vader considered attempting to link with him, something he'd resisted the urge to do so far. He had no desire to sense Luke's addled state, and he didn't want Luke to sense the depth of his anger. Not yet.

"Why are you so emotional?" Vader demanded. He hadn't meant his words to sound so harsh, but it was difficult to modulate his tone when his mood was so volatile.

"I can't stop thinking about that kid," Luke mumbled. He sounded barely awake.

"What person are you referring to?"

"The one who tried to pickpocket the Grand Vizier's parents-in-law. You had him killed, didn't you?"

"He has been diverted into a youth rehabilitation program. I arranged it."

He was tempted to add it was a decision he now regretted based on Luke's present behavior, but the waves of joy from Luke prevented the words.

"Really? Thank you."

Vader didn't respond. However, Luke, it seemed, had more to say.

"I know I don't always appreciate you. I complain to everyone about you being a Sith Lord and I call you the worst father ever when you make terrible jokes. Sometimes I'm angry and I just start arguments with you because … because I don't really know why."

Despite his frustration over the situation, there was something immensely satisfying about hearing his son admit that he did sometimes start an argument on purpose.

"It makes me wish I could go back in time and visit myself when I was stuck at the Family Services center and tell that scared kid that it's going to work out," Luke continued. "That your father is alive and you're going to find each other. Maybe he is just about the opposite of what you thought, but you're going to be a family together anyway. And you don't have to choose between living on the street or being a prisoner in that place."

Luke was getting emotional again, his voice breaking under the strain.

"Don't dwell on the past, my son," Vader said, finally feeling his anger lessen. "What matters is the here and now. Live in the moment."

"Well, maybe not in _this_ moment," Luke said, a hint of his normal self returning.

"A good point."

Luke did not reply, and by the time they landed, he was again dozing in the seat. He only made a mumbling noise when Vader tried to rouse him, and after he slumped back for the second time, Vader scooped an arm around under his legs and picked him up. It had been a long while since he had done this, and Luke did not easily fit in his arms. Not to mention he was uncomfortably heavy. This realization caused the doctor's words to echo in his mind.

_All you can do is accept you've done your best and let go._

"Raising you is the most difficult challenge I have ever undertaken," Vader said. "I hope you understand that."

Luke only made a mumbling noise in response.

From the floor, there was a series of chirps and beeps, and Vader looked down to find Artoo was rolling up, Threepio close behind him.

"Oh dear," Threepio said. "Is Master Luke all right?"

Vader considered passing the boy to Threepio to carry, and then decided he would manage. But he ordered the droids to follow him, already thinking ahead. There were several comlink messages he needed to listen to, and he may be needed back at the military command center. The droids could keep a close watch over Luke while he saw to the needs of the Empire.

But still, it was difficult to leave the room once he had Luke settled in his bed, a pillow propped up behind him to prevent him from rolling onto his back. He just had to trust the doctor that Luke was fine, and trust the droids to ensure he stayed that way. Artoo, as if sensing his feelings, made a reassuring beep.

"Alert me if there is any change," he said, pointing at the droid.

"Of course, sir," Threepio said. "We'll take good care of him."

If only his son would take the same care when it came to himself.

* * *

There was something uniquely irritating about being woken by two arguing droids. Especially when you had a headache.

"Guys, guys, knock it off," Luke said, rubbing his head as he attempted to roll over. There was a stack of pillows behind him, making the task difficult.

"Oh, now look, Artoo, you've woken Master Luke!"

Artoo screeched in protest and then made a particularly piercing whistle. Luke opened his eyes, wondering exactly what he'd done to deserve this. Then he remembered.

"Oh, stars," he said, shuffling into a sitting position. "What happened? And what's the …?" Luke caught sight of the chrono above the holoprojector and immediately threw aside the bedclothes. "Stars, I've got to get to school!"

Unfortunately, his foot was tangled in the sheet, and he ended up on the floor. Artoo rolled up to assist him, amid a long flurry of beeps.

"Your father left orders that you were not to go to school today, Master Luke," Threepio said. "You should rest."

"That's … suspiciously kind of him," Luke said, rubbing his head. Artoo extended one of his tools, pointing towards his bedside table. There was a glass of water and a painkiller.

"Thanks, Artoo," Luke said, reaching out for the glass. "So what were you two arguing about?"

"We were going to order some breakfast for you, but we couldn't agree about what would be best."

"Just some toast would be nice," Luke said, flopping back down on the pillow and putting his arm over his eyes. "I don't know how this happened."

Memories from last night were resurfacing and each one just caused a fresh sting of embarrassment. He didn't even remember how he reached his bed. But everything before that was all too clear, and he wished it wasn't.

His toast arrived soon after, but he found he could only manage half of it. Just lying with his face in the pillow and the blankets over his head seemed like a better way to spend the day. But he only dozed for an hour before he felt the stirring along the bond with his father that preceded his arrival.

"Oh no," Luke sighed.

A moment later, the doors opened, and artificial breathing could be heard. Luke tried to get deeper into the bed, but all the blankets and pillows moved aside of their own accord, leaving him exposed.

"You will get up and get dressed," his father said, his tone reflecting the serious mood he could sense. "Then you will join me in the conference room."

His father then turned and left, not even bothering to say anything to the droids.

"Great," Luke said to the air. "Just great."

The morning did not improve. He expanded his father's order to include a shower, and then took his time in the refresher until he concluded that the best thing to do was get this conversation over with. It wasn't going to get any easier the longer he waited. With any luck, his father would have worked through most of his anger overnight, and be ready to talk calmly this morning.

But it felt like a thousand tiny womp rats were running around in his stomach when he walked across the hall to the conference room. The sounds of the door opening seemed unnaturally loud, and he quietly slipped through the doorway and into a seat close to the door. His father sat on the other side of the table, reading something on a computer. He didn't acknowledge his arrival.

Sometimes, when his father wanted to talk to him about his behavior, Luke struggled to appear suitably contrite, especially when he thought his father was overreacting. Not today. Today he rested with his shoulders hunched and his hands entwined on the table and wondered if he was supposed to say something first.

Just as he was considering whether to apologize, his father abruptly stood up. He began pacing with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Well. Do you have any explanation?"

"I'm sorry," Luke mumbled. "I … it just got out of hand. I didn't know Jawa Juice contained alcohol."

"You should not have been in a bar in the first place."

"It was just a private event in their upstairs lounge."

"Irrelevant. You will never touch alcohol again. You will never visit a bar again either."

"What, ever?"

" _Ever_."

"Don't you think that's a little extreme?"

"No. Don't test me on this."

His father waved a hand at the table, and a datapad slid over to Luke's side. He only had to glance at it briefly before he caught sight of a grainy security holo-image of him struggling to open the passenger door of his speeder before Ben stepped in to help. His level of embarrassment descended further until he wished he could crawl under the table.

"Do you have any idea what that image would sell for?" his father asked.

"I'm sorry," Luke whispered.

"I have had that venue closed down, pending an ISB investigation into their license conditions."

Luke's eyes widened, realizing this meant LJ wouldn't be able to perform.

"I have also asked your principal to identify all the young men who were involved with this debased event and see they are properly chastised. You will not associate with any of them again."

"What? No, you can't—"

His father pointed at him. "I will make an exception for your spineless friend, only because he had enough sense not to let you fly in your inebriated state. Consider yourself fortunate."

"This was _my_ mistake," Luke insisted. "No one else is to blame."

"You are too immature to even understand what your mistake was."

"No, I understand," Luke said, feeling his temper rise. "It was taking you seriously when you told me I was immature. So I tried to be an adult and now you're going to berate me about that too."

"Maturity is not measured by your willingness to consume alcohol at the urging of your friends. If you _were_ mature, you would understand that. You are not some over-indulged Coruscant adolescent with nothing better to do than roam the city looking for your next source of entertainment. You are _my_ son and you will conduct yourself in the manner expected of a future Imperial leader."

Luke let his head fall on his arms. "Not this again … _please!_ "

"Clearly you need some guidance as to what that means."

"No, I don't."

"I do not require your input, Luke. You will listen carefully and take notes."

He gestured towards the datapad. Luke shoved it away, roughly.

"I'm never going to be a future Imperial leader. You know it. I'm a Tatooine farmboy, nothing more, nothing less. I'm sorry that _disappoints_ you, but I can't change it." His voice caught on the word 'disappoints'.

His father merely stared at him in silence, and then said, "If you insist that is what you are, then perhaps I should treat you like a Tatooine farmboy."

"Exactly!" Luke said. "That's all I want."

"What happens to Tatooine farmboys when they shirk their responsibilities and return home inebriated?"

His father's quiet tone had a threatening undercurrent. Like he was expecting him to back down and avoid the question. Or deliberately suggest an easy punishment, like washing down the speeders.

Luke met his gaze squarely when he replied. "They would have been taken out to the garage and given a whippin'. No long boring lectures."

His father didn't even hesitate. "Very well. Come here."

Luke froze, studying his father for any sign of jest. That mask made it difficult.

"Uh … where?"

"Here." His father gestured to the space beside him.

Still unsure as to whether this was his father's twisted sense of humor at work, or if he'd crossed a line somewhere, Luke pushed his chair back. He made his way slowly around the table, feeling his father's gaze follow him the entire way. When he reached the space in front of his father, he squared his shoulders and folded his arms, but couldn't quite meet his gaze.

His father didn't miss it.

"Have you changed your mind? Do you want to continue our discussion?"

Luke felt his face getting hot with embarrassment. He really did feel like a Tatooine farmboy right now, but his tone was defiant. "No!"

"You want me to treat you like I would a recalcitrant farmboy?"

Luke glanced down while nodding once. He still wasn't sure what that r word meant.

Then, the table lit up with a brilliant red glow, and the unmistakable sound of a lightsaber igniting caused him to jump back.

"What the?" Luke stared, wide-eyed, from the lightsaber to his father and then groaned. "You are the _worst_ father ever!"

His father raised the end of the lightsaber to his chest and waved it slightly as he spoke, to emphasize his point. "You should be more cautious about what you ask a Sith Lord to do, my son."

Luke was about to make a snarky reply when the door-comm beeped. His father waved a hand at the doors, and they slid open just as he switched off his lightsaber. Lev was on the other side. Judging by his expression, he'd at least heard the sound of it switching off, and he drew up short.

"What is it, Lieutenant?" his father asked, re-attaching it to his belt.

It took him a moment, but he stepped fully into the room and came to attention. "My lord, the Emperor wishes to speak with you."

"Very well."

Luke brightened at the news, but his father pointed at him.

"You will stay in here and work on your studies. Your principal said she would ensure the work was sent to you."

Luke nodded, and then breathed a sigh of relief as his father swept out the door. Lev had remained behind, concern clear on his face.

After the doors had closed, he raised an eyebrow. "Should I ask what you were discussing that required the use of a lightsaber?"

Luke slumped into a seat, burying his head in his arms. "Just his twisted idea of a Dad joke. I'm never going to touch alcohol again."

Lev chuckled. "Yes, I heard about last night." He came over and took a seat beside him, patting him on the back. "Don't worry about it. Embarrassing mistakes are all part of growing up. It gets better, I promise."

"Really?" Luke couldn't keep the disbelief out of his voice.

"Yes. I'm just relieved Ben got you home safely and no one tried to sell pictures of you to the media. And your father might be upset right now, but he'll calm down in time. He probably didn't realize you had reached an age where he needed to talk to you about alcohol. I'm guessing this isn't the first time you've been invited to an event where people your age have been drinking."

Luke had to think back. "It's the first time it's been at a nightclub lounge and they've been no parents around. I think my classmates are normally wary of inviting me because of my father, but Greein would invite anyone. Now I think I've got him in trouble over it." He groaned. "I don't even know what went wrong. I just had half a cocktail. And then a glass of Jawa Juice that I didn't even know was alcoholic. And then … maybe one more Jawa Juice but I didn't drink all of it. I don't think I did."

"Ah. All right. Let me give you the lowdown. First, it affects everyone differently. Some people can drink a lot without any noticeable effect, and for others, a single strong drink on an empty stomach can make them tipsy. You're only young and you have a slight frame … I'm assuming you didn't eat much?"

Luke shook his head. "Just some cake, but that was at the end."

Lev nodded. "You need to learn what's right for you. Having a drink with friends or over a nice meal is one of life's simple pleasures, but no one wants to wake up the next morning feeling sick and full of regrets. Watch out for the people Hicks likes to call the manhood police. Guys who urge you to drink more or don't accept no for an answer when you say you're not drinking tonight. They have their own insecurities."

Luke nodded, knowing exactly the type of people Lev meant. "Have you ever been drunk?"

Lev smirked. "Here's where I regret starting this conversation."

"Hey, I can't be judgemental. Not after last night."

"When I was your age, I was more likely to be the responsible friend trying to distract parents while someone sneaked back into their house. But let's just say there were a few weekends in my academy days I regret. Fortunately, I also had some good friends to watch out for me."

"I owe Ben big time," Luke admitted. "I'll call him later."

"Yes, his father was not impressed, to say the least. However, I haven't heard of any lightsabers being involved there." He squeezed Luke's shoulder as he stood up. "You better get to your schoolwork."

Luke nodded, but he felt a twinge of regret as Lev left the room. Perhaps he should have also asked him for the lowdown on the other adult thing which had happened last night, as he couldn't even begin to understand his feelings about that. At least his father didn't know about the stripper.

* * *

The Emperor was surprisingly spry for an 80-year-old man who was recovering from heart surgery. Suspiciously so. A Force-sensitive lifeform who was sick or weakened in some manner had a unique tarnish to their presence, something easily detectable to one who spent a lot of time around them. Vader silently observed the Emperor's Force signature during the briefing, perceiving no such weakness. If anything, he felt stronger.

Vader suspected his master had in fact spent yesterday communing with the Dark Side in the Sith temple in the depths of the palace, rather than undergoing surgery. It would be a typical ruse in his mind, designed to reveal any of his immediate underlings who were harboring thoughts of a coup. Perhaps he was even disappointed Vader hadn't taken the opportunity.

Perhaps, if he didn't have Luke to constantly worry about, he might have been tempted. But knowing the Emperor would be around for a while yet was almost a relief. Luke would require a lot more work to prepare him for leadership. Right now, things seemed to be slipping backward.

The Grand Vizier joined him in the elevator on the way down from the spire, something Vader could have done without. Especially when the first words out of his mouth were, "I hear there was a problem with young Luke last night."

"I see you have nothing better to do than listen to palace gossip," Vader remarked.

He didn't reply at first, and Vader hoped he had taken a hint. But then, he said, "The galaxy is a troubled place. Perhaps he needs to see more of how the Empire can improve it."

Vader turned his head towards the Grand Vizier, trying to get a sense of what his true meaning was.

"What do you mean?"

"He's an idealistic young man. Showing him the good he could achieve if he accepts the call to service might be just the motivation he needs. Coruscant is full of idle pleasures, tempting the restless young to forget about all they might hope to accomplish. But out there …" He gestured with one of his hands, causing the sleeve of his robe to slip down. "You can broaden his experience."

"I have no wish to take him to a war zone."

"How about a place where the Empire has brought peace after centuries of war? A place like Crata?"

Some years ago, the Empire had removed the failing monarchy on Crata and installed a planetary governor of their own choosing. It had been a surprising success, with the planet now boasting a growing economy and low unemployment. The end of conflict had opened up their tourist industry, and it was a popular day trip for Coruscant families looking to see some of their more unusual mega-fauna in their nature reserves.

"Seeing their transformation will teach him far more about what the Empire was built to achieve than years of studying theory ever could."

He had a point. Luke, like his mother, had compassion to spare. Seeing a thriving society that had once been ravaged by war could spark his interest in public service. Padmé herself had first become interested in politics while working with refugees.

"I will give it some consideration."

The elevator doors slid open at the bottom of the spire, and Vader stepped out first, already considering the next item on his agenda. Various updates were waiting for him at the military headquarters and ISB. New proposals waiting for his approval.

None of them held any interest right now. The conversation with Luke was going around his head, causing all manner of unwanted feelings. There was something about the age his son had reached that brought up every ghost from his own youth. He tried to offer some parental guidance, and suddenly he became Obi-Wan, berating a teenage Anakin about maturity in the exact same tone. Young Anakin used to try and goad Obi-Wan into some kind of physical reaction too, in much the same manner Luke had just done with him. He should not have entertained it, even in jest.

He paused to stare out a window, wondering what the alternative was. He needed to re-center his thoughts and come up with a new approach. If he was honest, he was feeling more than a little envious that his master had simply taken a day off. If he could do that, then perhaps he wasn't being overly self-indulgent to allow himself an hour or two of peace and quiet in the meditation room far down in the lower levels of the palace.

* * *

Luke had called Ben at lunchtime to try and find out what had happened at school, but his friend didn't call him back until much later in the evening. As soon as his image appeared on the holoprojector, Luke started apologizing. Ben raised a hand to stop him.

"Relax. It's okay. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. But my father is … not happy."

Ben smiled. "Neither is mine. Are you grounded?"

"He hasn't mentioned any punishment yet. But he said he'd had the bar closed down for an ISB investigation and told the principal about it."

"Yes, me and three of the others were called into her office this morning. But … it was actually okay. I was freaking out, thinking she was going to ream us and maybe I'd be suspended, but she was actually pretty fair. Greein didn't come in today either. Apparently, he was too hungover. And Cadi told me Greein's parents were angry as his brothers had just said they were taking him out to a restaurant."

"Did … did the principal say anything about them not speaking to me?"

"No. She did say your father had made it clear he did not want you attending events with alcohol and without parental supervision, and she agreed."

"Great," Luke sighed. "Back to being a social pariah. Well, if I'm lucky, I'll still be able to attend the birthday parties with streamers and a juggling act."

"I think that's all I'll be allowed to attend from now on as well. I'll try and book a table at Circuit Town for when I turn seventeen."

Circuit Town was a notorious family restaurant full of singing droids and a large indoor playground.

"I'll look forward to it," Luke said.

Ben was joking, but there was part of him that did wish life was still that simple. His father had asked him how Tatooine farmboys were punished if they went off to bars instead of seeing to their responsibilities, but in all his years on Tatooine, he'd never actually heard of any of his neighbors doing such a thing. There was plenty of trouble to be found if you wanted to find it, but perhaps he'd just been living in an innocent bubble of childhood and farm life.

Being a teenager on Coruscant was a hundred times more complicated. Just thinking about Tatooine made him wonder what Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru would have made of his life now. He could hear his uncle dismissing the Coruscant nightlife as a waste of time, and his aunt urging him to stay safe.

After he ended the call with Ben, he crawled onto his bed and lay face down with the pillow over his head. Maybe he could just stay like this for a week.

But his attempt to hide from the world lasted all of an hour before he heard his room doors sliding open and mechanical breathing filling the air. Instinctively, he reached up to hold the pillow down, knowing from past experience how easily it could be pushed aside.

The mattress compressed as he felt his father sit down. His mood did feel much calmer than it had this morning, which was a good sign.

"Son," he said.

Luke mumbled a greeting, completely muffled by the mattress.

"I have been considering your career project."

Luke was curious enough to release his hold on the pillow and peek out from under it.

"Tomorrow, we will visit a nearby planet called Crata."

"The place with the giant nerfs?" Luke asked.

"It is a good example of a system that has benefited greatly from Imperial intervention. You can learn a lot there."

"I thought you wanted me to do the project with the Grand Vizier."

"I have changed my mind."

There was no further information, and Luke wondered if there was something he wasn't being told.

"What will we do there?"

"We will meet with the Imperial overseer and then tour some of the development projects."

"Anything else?"

"Is there something else you have in mind?"

"No … uh … just wondering if there's a catch."

"The only _catch_ is that you will have to spend the day with me."

"Is that my punishment for last night?"

"Is spending time with me a punishment?"

His father sounded amused.

Luke sighed. "Depends. Are you still angry with me and disappointed?"

"Son, I was angry that you put yourself in danger. You have never disappointed me." His father released a slow breath then and reached out to put a hand on his back. "I did not handle our earlier conversation well."

"Neither did I."

"Yes. But I am the adult. Perhaps I haven't been as attentive as I should. I know you are growing older and facing new challenges. Coruscant is full of traps for the unwary."

"Life did seem simpler on Tatooine," Luke admitted, warming to his father's reassurance.

"I know." His father removed his hand and stood up. "You should get ready for bed and go to sleep. Be ready to leave by 0700 tomorrow."

"That's _early_."

"Yes."

"Can I pilot?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Luke!"

"All right, all right. Once we've finished touring the development projects, can we go and see the giant animals? Just for an hour or two ... hey, can Ben come too?"

"Isn't the point of this project to make observations about my occupation? You can take notes about the Imperial overseer's job and how I interact with them."

"Well ... " Luke sighed. "Okay, but you're not going to do anything to embarrass me, right? No threats? No violence?"

"Luke, despite what you may have heard on the HoloNet, I do not spend every hour of every day torturing the Imperial leadership."

"Is that a no?"

"Goodnight, Son."

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

Despite the early start, Luke found his excitement was growing as he prepared for the unexpected field trip. It wasn't every day he was able to visit a whole new planet, and he was sure if he pleased his father, he may allow some time in their schedule for something more interesting than meeting with Imperial leaders. He was careful to choose formal clothes from his closet, and wear his good boots.

His father had selected a non-descript lambda shuttle to make the journey, and they left in good time, accompanied by Artoo and Threepio. He even let him take over the controls briefly to calculate the jump to hyperspace, without any of the begging he normally had to engage in to be allowed to do such a thing when they traveled to Mustafar.

When Luke settled back in the co-pilot's seat to eat his breakfast and make a few initial notes in the project diary, he noticed a list of questions he was supposed to ask his father. Given the schedule when they reached Crata, there would never be a better time than the relative quiet of hyperspace to go through this.

He glanced at his father, seeing he appeared to be reading a fleet update.

"So … I need to ask you a few questions for the project."

His father turned his helmet to stare at him. Luke swallowed, hoping he wasn't going to object to any of these.

"First one. What is your job title?"

His father didn't reply and merely continued to stare, until Luke said, "I'll just write 'Sith Lord'."

Artoo made an amused sounding whistle.

"Next question … why did you choose this as a career? Or how about … what qualifications are required at entry-level?"

His father turned back to the fleet report. "I am already regretting this decision."

"No, no, please, all right, I'll just make something up for that box. How about this one? If you weren't doing this as a career, what else could you see yourself doing?"

His father removed the datapad from his hands, placing it back on the console.

"Okay, we'll skip the questions," Luke said. "But I am supposed to ask if you have any tasks that I can help with. To give me first-hand experience of what you do. Maybe I could … I don't know, bring the shuttle into land?"

"You can read through my low-priority mail and determine if there is anything worthy of my attention."

Luke smirked. "Low priority? What does that mean? A cape sale at the mall?"

"I am unsure. I rarely have time to look."

"So … it could be really important things? Like telling you your pilot's license has expired?"

"Anything that requires my attention is already sorted into the high and medium priority queues by assistants." His father passed him a datapad that he'd already authorized on the mailbox concerned. "See what you can learn."

Luke pushed the projector button, and the header and text of the first message hummed into view. It appeared to be a weekly report on the navy 'key performance indicators'. Luke automatically pressed next, hoping some low-level bureaucrat hadn't spent hours preparing that report.

The messages became progressively more boring after that, with many of them focusing on the senate and various proposed law reforms. He could see why this was all considered low priority.

Then, another message filled the screen, and Luke was about to dismiss it, as it looked too long to read. But then a sentence caught his eye and he found himself reading on.

… _I have heard you have no tolerance for corruption. I am putting myself at great risk by revealing this information, but I believe the consequences for the galaxy are too serious to ignore._ _Commodore Page, the Imperial overseer of_ _Siolara, has become obsessed with a local mythology concerning an ancient artifact known as the Amplifier. The stories tell of a tyrant king who used its power to destroy his enemies._

"Hey," Luke said, out loud. "Have you ever heard of a place called Siolara?"

"Why?"

"Someone from there has written you a letter." Luke skimmed down to the bottom to see the person's name. "Ensign Zuni."

"Begging to be transferred?"

"Is it that bad?"

"It is not considered a success story by any means."

"They say their boss has become obsessed over some mythological artifact and is diverting money and troops into attempts to find it." Luke read further. "Any staff who complain about the corruption mysteriously vanish."

His father, at last, turned to face him. "What artifact?"

"It's called the Amplifier." Luke smirked. "Maybe you just need to hook up a couple of speakers and it gives you the ultimate power of really good bass."

There was no response to his joke, and Luke had the distinct feeling his father had been rattled somehow.

"You've heard of it?" he asked.

His father only stretched out a hand, causing the datapad to return to his grip. He read the letter himself, spending far longer on the task than Luke had.

Then, he put it aside.

"A troubling situation. I will have it investigated by ISB."

"Why don't we just show up there?" Luke said, excited at the idea. "If you assign ISB to investigate, this Commodore Page guy will probably get tipped off and hide the evidence."

"We are going to Crata."

"Are you sure you want to go there? This place sounds way more fun. A mythological artifact? A corrupt Imperial officer? People mysteriously disappearing?"

"Son, I doubt you will want firsthand experience of what I do to corrupt Imperial officers."

"You better not be suggesting that you'd kill him," Luke said, frowning. " _No_. If you're going to be like that, then we won't go. We'll go to Crata and have a boring safe day doing boring safe things."

There was silence in the shuttle for precisely ten seconds before his father released a slow, weary breath that caused Luke to smile.

"If we go to Siolara then you must pay attention and obey my instructions. A third of the planet is ruled by a Hutt. Another third of it suffered a radiation accident and is uninhabitable. It is not a place I would normally take you."

"Fine," Luke said. "And you have to promise not to kill the corrupt officer. Just have him arrested and court-martialed, like a normal person."

His father didn't reply, but he did bring the ship out of hyperspace, which Luke had to assume was an agreement. As the stars turned to blue lines of light once again, Luke picked up his project diary.

 _0721_ , he wrote, _we've had an unexpected change of mission ..._

* * *

_"Anakin?!"_

_Anakin lurched his head off the library desk, straightening up. "Master! I … I'm …" He looked down at his notes. "... studying," he finished, sheepishly._

_Fortunately, Obi-Wan had a twinkle in his eye. "Ah. Then clearly you are far too busy to accompany me to a council meeting."_

_"The council?" Anakin stumbled slightly as he stepped away from the table, still dealing with some clumsiness caused by ever-growing limbs. "Does this mean … a mission?!"_

_Obi-Wan smiled. "Perhaps. Let's go and find out." He reached out to steady Anakin as he disentangled his robe from the chair. "Have you grown_ again _? I need to stop taking you to Dex's."_

_"Maybe it's the temple food," Anakin suggested, following his master towards the exit._

_Obi-Wan laughed at that. "Not likely."_

_He was still smiling when they rode the elevator up to the council tower, and Anakin could sense his anticipation at the thought of getting away from Coruscant, even for a few days. His own thoughts were a mess of excitement at the thought of another chance to prove himself to his master and the council, tempered with anxiety at the thought of disappointing Obi-Wan. After their last mission, there had been a few remarks about how 'they had some work to do'._

_Anakin's thoughts took a different turn when they received their first indication of the general mood in the council chamber. Obi-Wan frowned, clearly sensing the same thing._

_During the six years he'd been a Jedi apprentice, Anakin didn't think he'd ever seen Mace Windu smile, but his expression now was beyond even his serious norm. He looked … pained._

_It soon became clear why._

_"Master Kenobi. Padawan Skywalker. I'm afraid I have some bad news."_

_He pressed a button, causing a hologram of two Jedi to appear between them._

_"Master Wilsy and his padawan, Cavi-Ma, have gone missing."_

_Anakin looked from one to the other, committing their faces to memory. Master Wilsy was tall, as tall as Qui-Gon had been, and had a grim, serious expression on his blue features. His padawan, Cavi-Ma was also a duro, and his face was filled with an excited smile in the holo. There was something about his eyes that seemed so full of hope._

_"They left a week ago to help mediate a border dispute on Xiloa Beta," Master Mundi explained. "But then never arrived."_

_"Traced their ship to Siolara, we have," Master Yoda added._

_"Siolara?" Obi-Wan said. "But that's nowhere near Xiloa Beta."_

_Master Windu and Master Yoda exchanged a glance, and then Master Windu changed the holo. An object that resembled a cone-shaped spiral appeared, growing thicker as it rose into an open circle at the top. A glowing source of energy could be seen deep inside it._

_"After speaking to some of Master Wilsy's confidants, we have discovered the reason for his interest in Siolara." He gestured at the device. "This is an ancient Siolarian artifact, known as the Amplifier. Most academics consider it purely mythological, but it seems Master Wilsy believed it might really exist."_

_"It looks like some kind of energy generator," Anakin noted. "What is it meant to do?"_

_"The legends, vague they are," Master Yoda said. "But its purpose, unimportant. Finding the missing Jedi, your mission is."_

_"Do we have anything to go on?"_

_"Only the last known coordinates of their tracking signal," Master Windu said. "And … a potential contact." He changed the holo again, bringing up an image of a species Anakin didn't recognize. His head was like a light purple oval with a fin at the back: large black eyes, no ears, and no nose. There was an impression that appeared to be a mouth, though. Their hands, clasped neatly in front of their elaborate robe, were webbed._

_"The ceremonial leader," Master Windu explained. "Prince Gem. All political power is held by their elected senate, but he still performs some traditional duties. It appears Master Wilsy may have been in contact with him on Siolara."_

_Obi-Wan nodded. "We'll do all we can."_

_Master Yoda looked between them, and Anakin hoped he only sensed peace and serenity from his presence and not his burning curiosity about what ancient artifact could cause a Jedi Master to go rogue._

_"May the Force be with you," Master Windu said, waving a hand in dismissal._

* * *

"Father?"

Vader roused himself, easing away from the memory. Not fast enough for Luke's liking.

"Dad?!"

"What is it?" Vader asked. "And if you call me that again, we will return to Coruscant."

"We're coming out of hyperspace. What were you doing? Sleeping?"

"I was meditating."

"Huh." Luke looked at his datapad. "I guess I should note that down. So … how often do you meditate during an average workday?"

Vader chose not to respond. The shuttle shuddered slightly as it reverted to normal space, revealing a planet with a murky ocean, broken up with red-brown continents, split roughly into triangular shapes. Luke brought up the system map on one of the side screens.

"There are a lot of moons," he noted.

"Yes, three of them are inhabited, and one has been extensively mined." He plotted a course towards the planet, and they had just begun to accelerate forward when Luke pointed across his field of vision.

"What's that?"

Vader glanced at the radar and saw a red signal sending ripples across their path.

"It's coming from that ship, look," Luke said.

"It appears to be a distress beacon. No matter. The system patrol will address it."

"What system patrol? Maybe we should go check if they're all right. Come on."

"Luke, we have a mission. We have no time for—"

"We have plenty of time! And what if they're losing air and have only minutes to live? We're the closest ship … can't we at least go and look?!"

Wondering for the thousandth time why he let Luke talk him into such things, Vader reluctantly reprogrammed their course to pass by the disabled ship.

"You realize this could be a trap," he suggested, as Luke grinned at his victory.

"If it was a trap, wouldn't the Force tell you?"

Vader stretched out, seeking knowledge of the occupants of the small freighter. He could sense three lifeforms. One appeared to be an animal.

As soon as they were in visual range of the ship, a green light began flashing by Luke's hand. His son was busy leaning over the controls to get a better look.

"You may answer their call," Vader said, gesturing to the controls.

Luke activated the comlink, leaning into the projector field.

"Hi! Are you all right?"

A short, round man appeared on the projector field. He was wearing some kind of knitted hat. "Ahoy there! Something has happened to our engine … we could really use a tow if it's not too much trouble."

A female voice chimed in from the side. "Now, Sparki, I don't think an Imperial shuttle comes with tow cables. We should just call the mechanic—"

"Who says that's an Imperial shuttle? And you know the mechanic will charge us a small fortune for—"

In the background, a yipping noise could be heard.

Vader muted the call. "You are not bringing those people on board," he said firmly.

Luke smirked. "Why not?"

Vader merely stared at him until Luke said, "Okay, okay. At least let me check on their engine. Maybe I can fix it. Then we won't have to bring them on board."

"Luke—"

His son had already unmuted the call. "So, uh, Sparki, what's wrong with your engine? Maybe I could take a look at it … I can fix things."

Sparki was joined on camera by a woman wearing a similar hat. "Oh, deary, you're a sweetheart, but I think it's a lost cause. Someone has gone and messed around with it."

"It wasn't me," Sparki said.

"Messed around with it how?" Luke asked.

"It's the darndest thing. The engine coolant has been cut and an oxygen tube connected to the spare fuel tank."

"Yeah, and some other weird device that looks like a spare battery has been connected to the—"

"Wait," Luke said, frowning. "Did you say an oxygen tube has been connected to the field tank?"

"That's right, deary."

"But that's not the strangest thing," Sparki said. "I think our mechanic was trying to fix the hyperdrive again, but I've told him that thing is a lost cause—"

Luke muted the call again, just as whatever animal they had on board began yipping louder. Vader was busy running scans on the rear compartment of the ship, while Artoo came rolling out of the passenger compartment, beeping and whistling.

"It has been rigged to explode," Vader said, reaching for the flight controls. "I knew this was a trap."

"You did not know it was a trap!" Luke moved to prevent him from flying the ship away. "And we need to get those people off that ship!" He unmuted the call. "Listen, can you get to the rear hatch?! We're going to dock … you need to get off the ship immediately. It's going to explode."

"You don't say!" Sparki said. "There has been a funny red light flashing …"

"Just hurry!"

Luke disconnected the call and tried to turn the ship around, but Vader raised a hand, pushing him back to the co-pilot's seat. But the ship was already reversing, and before Vader could get the command override in place, the docking clamps could be heard locking into place.

"Thanks, Artoo!" Luke said, jumping out of the seat. "Hang on! This won't take a moment!"

Vader stared out the front window, questioning all the choices that had led to this moment. Agreeing to divert from the mission to Crata to come here instead. Somehow letting Luke have his way about responding to the distress signal. Bringing the droids along in the first place.

At the rear of the ship, he heard the buzz of conversation echoing down the corridor. Then Luke shouted, "We've got them! Let's go!"

It took a moment to release the doomed freighter, and then he accelerated away, taking power from the weapons to boost the sublight engines. Halfway towards Siolara, the shuttle was knocked off course by a shockwave, sending the shield alarms into a rainbow of warning colors.

"Oh no!" Threepio said, wandering into the cockpit. "Are we under attack?"

Vader stood up, gesturing at the pilot's seat.

"Take over, Threepio. Return the shuttle to her present course."

"At once, sir! But are you sure we're not in any danger?!"

Vader merely strode out of the cockpit, heading down the corridor, past the passenger lounge, and into the rear cargo hold. Luke was laughing with the ridiculous-hat-wearing older couple, while Artoo rolled away from some creature that resembled cotton wool with legs.

Normally, his entrance into any room resulted in immediate return to decorum and a healthy dose of fear. Instead, all he received were wide eyes and a few seconds of silence.

"Hey now," the man said, pointing. "You look like that one on the HoloNet. The one who's friendly with the Emperor."

"I know the one you mean," the woman said. "But I'm terrible with names."

"He's not him, is he?" the man asked Luke.

"Uh … maybe?" Luke said.

Vader folded his arms. "Who are you?!"

"Well, as I was just telling this young lad here, I'm Sparki and this here is my wife, Doraleen. But everyone calls her Dotty."

"They're independent freight haulers," Luke said, smiling as their pet came to sniff at his legs.

"Yes, and here we were just on our way back from delivering a shipment to the mining station when all this happened."

"All I can say … at least we've finally got rid of that dingy old freighter and we don't have to pay the scrap costs," Dotty said. "I've been telling you for years it would explode one day."

"It looked like someone had sabotaged it," Luke said. "Do you have any enemies who might target you like that?"

Both husband and wife looked baffled at the suggestion.

"Enemies? No, a stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet, that's what I always say," Sparki said. "We work with everyone, don't we Dotty?"

"Yes, we've been flying all over the system for sixty years now," Dotty said. "Of course we can't do as much as we used to now. Say, maybe you know our daughter. She works for the Empire."

"Balaba," Sparki said. "She's a lieutenant! Can you believe that? Couple of working-class freighties like me and the missus here, raising a daughter to be an officer!"

"So who paid you to take this shipment to the mining station today?" Luke asked, clearly struggling to keep them focused on the fact they had just barely escaped death.

"Well, see, our daughter is an assistant to the Imperial overseer, a lovely man by the name of Commodore Page," Dotty said. "He's been helping all us struggling workers by making sure the contracts go to little independents. We've been hauling stuff all over for the Painted Palace—that's the big government HQ here."

"We usually run supplies out to the Refugee Relief movement or the commodore's special operation on the border. But today we got a request to haul some crates to their mining station, and who are we to say no."

Luke glanced at Vader for a moment and then turned back to the couple.

"How much do you know about his special operation on the border?"

"Well, supposedly it's about building a new water supply for refugee housing projects, but they sure have a lot of military equipment there and—"

"No, remember, Balaba told us not to talk about it!" Dotti said.

The conversation was mercifully brought to an end by Artoo screeching out a warning from the cockpit. Vader quickly walked back up the length of the ship and found Threepio in a state of panic.

"Sir! There is an Imperial patrol hailing us, and they're threatening to fire if we don't immediately heave-to and lower the shields!"

Vader removed Threepio from the pilot's seat with both hands, and then sat down, quickly bringing the ship to a halt. Three TIE fighters overshot them, just as Luke rushed to the co-pilot's seat.

"What do we do?" he asked. "Should I respond? What do I say?"

Vader was busy checking the map of the nearby systems. "There is a training base three systems over. Say you are a cadet learning how to pilot a shuttle and you set the wrong destination."

"What? You want me to lie to them? You know how bad I am at lying!"

Vader spoke calmly. "If our plan is to succeed, we must keep my presence here a surprise."

Luke sighed. "All right. I'll give it a try." He swallowed, and then reached out to activate the viewscreen. An image of a helmeted TIE pilot appeared.

"Please identify yourself and state your business in this system," she said, in a clipped tone.

"Uh … hi," Luke said, clenching his hands together. "Listen … um … you're not going to believe this, but I think I'm in the wrong system. Where am I?"

"Siolara."

"Yeah, I'm definitely in the wrong system," Luke said with a nervous laugh. "I'm in shuttle pilot training and we were supposed to go to Crata."

"You're a fair way from Crata," the pilot said. She still sounded suspicious. "We saw you dock with a freighter shortly before it exploded."

"Um. That's right! I came out of hyperspace and the first thing I saw was a distress signal lighting up the radar, and my teacher said to always investigate a distress signal."

Before Luke could stop her, Dotti leaned into the frame.

"Good morning to you! You wouldn't happen to know my daughter Balaba, would you? She's a _lieutenant_."

"I do know a Lieutenant Balaba Leavi," the pilot said, sounding surprised. "She works at the palace."

"Tell her mom and dad say hi, would you? And tell her this nice young man saved us!" She patted Luke on the shoulder.

"What happened to your ship?" the pilot asked, now sounding curious.

"I think the engine just gave out. It was over fifty years old. I kept telling my husband to get it checked."

"There have been several ships destroyed on their return journey from the mining outpost," the pilot said. "We suspect Hutt mercenaries are behind it, but it's still under investigation."

 _End this conversation_ , Vader sent. _I am now transmitting a false code that identifies this ship as belonging to the nearby training base._

"Listen, I better get to Crata," Luke said. "But first I'm going to drop these people back on the surface if that's all right."

"Very well," the pilot said. "We'll escort you in."

Luke reached up to disconnect the call and then smiled up at Dotti. "Thanks. You were perfect."

"Thank you, sweetheart," she said, sounding confused.

"Where can we take you so you'll be safe?" Luke said, spinning his chair around to include the man as well. "Someone might be trying to kill you … I don't know if your home is—"

"Trying to kill us … no, I don't think so. That nice young lady in the TIE said those Hutt gangs were probably behind it all."

"I don't know, Dot, maybe the young lad has a point. Perhaps you should take us to our son. He's supervising a big construction project for that refugee movement."

"Yes, he's very good at it," Dotti said. "And they've got a really capable director in charge of that whole operation now. Offworlder, but not all superior like those core world aid workers."

"We can stay with him until we're sure everything is as it should be," Sparki said.

"Sounds like a good idea," Luke said. "What are the coordinates?"

"Well, now, let me see," Dotti said, looking at their navigation map.

"Haven't the foggiest," Sparki said. "Let me give him a call."

It took a good twenty minutes for their unexpected guests to decide on the coordinates, and they spent quite a lot of time on the comlink with their son. Vader merely stared at his own son while he gave him a sheepish smile.

"Look, I promise, this will all be fine," Luke said, once their guests had left the cockpit to see to their pet, who was currently yipping at Threepio in the passenger lounge. "We'll drop them off and then we'll get back to our mission."

"You are too trusting," Vader said, accelerating towards the surface. "Just because people are older and wearing knitted hats does not mean they are your friends."

"Why? Did you sense any lies from them?"

Vader stretched out with the Force, checking for any sense of danger. Nothing.

"No. But something is suspicious. We have no knowledge of who sabotaged their ship and why."

"That's obvious! It was the Imperial overseer … trying to kill them because they know too much about his secret project!"

"So you have assumed everything you read in that letter is true."

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"It is rare for everything to be as it first appears. You must keep an open mind while we observe."

Luke was quiet as they broke through the atmosphere, revealing a sprawling urban area below. There was a sense of melancholy about him, and Vader didn't need to think very hard to guess what it was about. He had sensed this before from Luke when he had entertained Mas Amedda's in-laws. The boy missed his aunt and uncle. And his own maternal grandparents. For that reason, and that reason alone, he would indulge him. For the next ten minutes at least.

When they approached the coordinates the couple's son had provided, Luke frowned, seeing a multiple-story office building with a busy landing pad.

"This doesn't look like a construction site," Luke said, glancing in their rear-view scopes. The TIE fighters had left their escort duty and were flying in the opposite direction.

"Their navigation beacon indicates this in the main headquarters of the Refugee Relief Movement," Vader said.

The hailing light activated again, and Luke answered immediately this time. A droid was on the other end.

"Welcome. Please land on the director's private pad on the west side of the building. I will send you the coordinates."

"I guess they're expecting us," Luke said, disconnecting the call. "Maybe their son is actually the director and they were just confused about his job."

"Perhaps. Gaining access to their financial records will assist with ascertaining if there is any truth to the letter writer's claim."

"How are we going to do that?"

"People don't normally turn down my requests," Vader said.

"Please don't threaten anyone! I should go in with the droids and you stay here and look after the ship."

"Luke, this project is about you observing my work. Not you taking charge and giving me orders based on how you think my job should be done."

"I wasn't!"

"Son."

Luke sighed. "Okay, okay. We'll _both_ go in. But no threats!"

Once the shuttle ramp was lowered, Dotti and Sparki left first, with their white puffball of a pet streaking out and yipping loudly. Their son was waiting at the bottom and he hugged them both in greeting. Vader was momentarily occupied with checking the ship's internal diagnostics, as he'd noticed some engine irregularities when landing, implying they might have sustained minor damage in the explosion. As a result, Luke left the ship first, and by the time he joined him, he was already waving goodbye to the couple they'd rescued.

A silver protocol droid, who had been chatting with Threepio, stepped forward.

"Lord Vader, sir, the director of the Refugee Relief Movement has been informed of your arrival. She is currently making her way to the main reception to meet with you. Please follow me."

Vader pointed at Luke. "Wait here. Artoo, come with me."

Artoo could plug into the local network and extract all the records while he questioned this director about the alleged conspiracy involving the local Imperial overseer. Perhaps it was the right decision to come here first, even though it wasn't their initial plan. He would be more likely to hear the truth from whatever hapless bureaucrat had found themselves stationed on this struggling world.

The office interiors were basic, with scuff marks on the walls, worn carpet, and power cables trailing across hallways. The reception area had a table with a caf station, as well as a couple of plants. Artoo located a computer terminal at the desk where the protocol droid normally sat and was halfway through the connection procedure when the other droid became aware of what he was doing and raised its hands in protest.

"No, I must ask you to stop! We have highly sensitive records here and you are not authorized to—"

Vader raised a hand towards the droid, deactivating its power switch. The light faded from its eyes mid-word, and it slumped back against the wall, just as the door opened. He felt a strange tremor in the Force as the new arrival spoke.

"Well! If it isn't my uncle!"

He turned to face the woman, anger rising at being addressed in such a familiar manner. But when he recognized Pooja Naberrie, it faded as quickly as it formed. She wasn't wrong, after all.

"You have accepted the truth, I see," he noted.

"No, I was being sarcastic," she clarified, with a wry expression. "What brings _you_ to Siolara of all places?" Her expression became worried then. "How's Luke?"

Before he could answer, his offspring came rushing up behind Pooja, with Threepio calling his name in the distance.

"Pooja? POOJA!"

He threw himself at his cousin, wrapping both arms around her in a way that made her almost lose her balance. She laughed as she returned the embrace. "Luke! Look at you!"

She pushed him back, studying him. "You got taller!"

He smiled shyly, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah. How are you? How's everyone? How's Naboo? How's … oh stars, I have so much to tell you!"

"I'm fine. The family is all doing well. Naboo is … Naboo, as always. Now tell me what brought you here, cousin."

Her calming tone reminded Vader so much of Padmé, he had to place some physical distance between himself and the remnant of his past life just to get control of his emotions. Luke, meanwhile, was busy relaying the entire morning's events, complete with an unnecessarily long description of his career project, and information about the letter that Vader would never have chosen to divulge.

Pooja listened carefully, nodding at various intervals, and then said, "Why don't you both come through into my office? I have some things to show you that might shed some light on what your mysterious letter writer is alluding to."

* * *


End file.
